He died an asshole

I used to think

that he was a great poet

until I saw him interviewed

in a documentary

and then I realized that he was

just a bitter old man,

a drunk, who hit his wife

on screen in front of everybody.

I used to be that kind of asshole,

myself, but I’m not going to die

being that kind of asshole.

I haven’t picked up a book by him

or read a single poem that he wrote

since he revealed himself to me

on the screen that day.