the rules in poetry

it's not just a matter of knowing the rules
so you know how to break them
know the rules so well you can make them
devour themselves
punch their own faces
fake their own deaths
rip out their own braces

know the rules so well you can
turn them against each other
sell out their own mothers
view their own reflections suspiciously
gnashing and gnarling viciously
until the rules are all dead
and only you stand
learn them backward and forward
then work up a plan
and go about changing the world