Do not

sit down!

It is a little

known fact that

writers with flaccid bottoms

produce flaccid work

which is as mushy

and labored-over

as it sounds.

To write you must

bike to the grocery

with the generator lights set to

ON.

You must question the

organizational scheme of

the oils. You must

question the sorority

sisters and families

of four.

You must conspire

with the cheeses

in a covert manner

you must buy produce

you don’t recognize

and when you get it home,

like a lover

you’ve never touched before,

ruin it

over too high a flame.

Ignore the way your mother

lights up your cell phone,

and all her good advice.

Eat standing up

without a plate

without utensils

without hands.

Now

begin.

Tatiana Ryckman was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She is the author of the chapbook, Twenty-Something, and assistant editor at sunnyoutside press.