Better Than Notes Poem by Ferdinando Paparella

Futile facts spew from
the face of a professor
too smart for his own good

'If you turn to page eighty-three,
we can begin to discuss the...'

Hour and a quarter class
that meets twice every week
time spent penning poetry that
makes jaws dropp and minds race
the milky way marathon converting
my words into wonders of watercolor

'The expansion of national powers
under the commerce clause...'

I swear, swallowing cyanide and
rotting from the inside sounds
more exciting than frivolous
tax fraud and plea bargain
hearing lectures that make
my feet tap and
fingers roll

'Preemption and state regulation
aimed at global warming...'

Do you ever paint with light or
ride the thunder through the night?
The rickety-rackety roller-coaster
in the sky that doesn't care
how tall you are because
if you understand what
any of this means
you're already
on it