the end of fandom in poetry

Babe Ruth had no trouble
cranking out those big hits
Babe Ruth had a harder time
in battles with syphilis
Albert Einstein saw how
stars and all the atoms fit
Albert Einstein also
fucked anything with tits

don’t have heroes
they’re not how you want them in your head
if you must have heroes
at least wait until they’re dead
don’t have heroes
there’s a skeleton on every shelf
if you must have heroes
then make a hero of yourself

John Lennon beat his first wife
Michael Jackson prob’ly touched kids
Bill Cosby accused serial rapist
Howard Hughes flipped his fucking wig
if you ask me don’t have heroes
not if you can help it
great works do not mean great people
the confident are mostly just selfish

the odds of a stranger being perfect are zero
be your own goddamned hero