Richard Wilmarth (1949-2003)
                                                                                               a scrapbook look at a valid poet

on display second floor, University of Rhode Island Library until the end of July, 2004
for more: Richard Wilmarth 

The process

poets eat the garbage of the world
then digest it painfully
absorbing every bit of its filth
just to urinate and defecate
with words that become poems
that are read and considered
beautiful by people who live 
on much better diets
                                 from undated manuscript, Wilmarth Papers

The poet 

was as wasted as restaurant food --
a partially eaten burger with too much ketchup,
a lubricated salad, a dead french fry,
a non-dairy coffee creamer gone bad.

He was looking for someone to chew him up,
appreciate him, comment on him in a positive way,
but they spit him out, cleared the plate, 
and threw him in the dumpster.
                                    - Minimum Wage, 1985

eating art

so now the big dream is being a proofreader
or working in a gas station
or working in a milkstore
just so i can pay the rent --
my test tube job
didn't come through.
and i've told them all
leave a message
and i'll get back to you,
but no-one has called.
and i thought there was a job
for everyone in america,
even poets...maybe i was wrong
...maybe i should just keep writing
this perpetual obituary
and spend my time eating art.
                                  - Minimum Wage, 1985