How many more cigarettes

How many more cigarettes
Must I smoke to call myself a writer
How many more days of being drunk
How many more hours at my typewriter

How many more mistresses
Must I have to call myself an artist
How many more nudes must I draw
How many more Greats must I list

How many more poems
Must I write to call myself a poet
How many more nights must I pretend to cry
How many more broken hearts will show it

How many more miles
Must I run to call myself an athlete
How many more gasps for breath
How many more swollen sweaty feet

How many more books
Must I read to call myself an intellectual
How many more glares must I give
How many scoffs must I make to make it actual

How many more enemies
Must I have to call myself an actor
How many more bridges must I burn
How many auditions will they factor

How many more stanzas
Must I write to call this poem complete...

The answer to any and all is always


none