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Rob Plath

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my father prided himself on being
a thug, a leg breaker, a thief
whose every third word was cunt or motherfucker
& usually aimed at his own family
but he wouldn't allow his 12-year-old son
to have a miniature swiss army knife
i remember he grabbed it from my hands 
& kept it himself in the drawer
w/ other larger knives & a pistol
i loved the knife back then 
the way it snapped in & out of its thin bed 
but when i grew older & disinterested
in knives & bb guns 
i found i possessed another kind of edge 
passed down to me thru the centuries 
a beautiful blade sheathed in the skull
which grows sharper & sharper 
& never is in need of the grindstone






Rob Plath is a 46-year-old poet from New York. He has over a dozen books out. He is most known for his collection A BELLYFUL OF ANARCHY (epic rites press). He lives alone with his cat and stays out of trouble. See more of his work at http://www.robplath.com.













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