Dream Song 46: I am, on the outside

John Berryman

Dream Song 46: I am, on the outside.
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Quid pro quo on the outside—
What for What, Tit for Tat and
You Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Yours

Incredible smoothness rules—
It’s just business as usual with the
Usual harmless interactions
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People are fucking each other—
Blowing and getting blown nicely
Professors and students so gay

Drinks in the evening—
Cocktail parties for getting
Tenure, good grades so easy
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The worse anyone feels—
Is being slightly used & abused
It comes & goes each semester

Fools elect fools—
Chairpersons come & go
An MLA scholar says “Christ!”
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The spoken word nicely fucked—
The written word even better
Academe a funeral of whores

Promotions and raises—
Based on blackmails and threats
Of better wages elsewhere
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Poets undertaking the top job of all—
The memory of a lovely fuck in bed
That young freshman chick so cute

A tit for a tat—
A quid pro quo here
A scratched back there