Poetry does not have to be personal

I don’t have to talk about what’s behind my Interstate Irritation
OK Road Rage
and the horrible gendered epithets that come out of my mouth while I’m driving.

There’s no word that can really hurt a man’s feelings
But the things I say aloud about women drivers
The C word
The W word
I shock myself

I do not say these words in any other part of my life
But here, in the car, I can holler
Cunt and
Whore
at anyone who cuts me off

I don’t think about why I am yelling
I just blame
them

– a nod to Louis CK. “I’m a MAN. You can’t even hurt my feelings.”