Gwyneth Paltrow: On Seventy Percent of You
I’m speaking today to you,
to seventy percent of you.
I’m not a scientist, but I do research
from my coffee table. Coffee
is also like you, except for the caffeine,
which should be used sparingly,
on weekends, like a cigarette.
Remember, you can only get lung cancer
from a habit, not a treat.
But back to me and you,
We are fluid, or fluids, unpretentious, and clear—
not in the way of Scientologists,
unless you happen to be one,
in which case, you are clear in two ways.
You are mostly water. I turn on my tap,
and out you flow. You are water,
and you have feelings.
When people speak negative truths
about you, your water hears. Seventy percent
of you freezes under this contempt,
and not into chic ice cubes.
The other thirty percent is more resilient,
like leather gladiator sandals. Affirm yourself,
at least affirm most of yourself
and thank the water you drink.
It is your closest cousin.
I’m speaking today to you,
to seventy percent of you.
I’m not a scientist, but I do research
from my coffee table. Coffee
is also like you, except for the caffeine,
which should be used sparingly,
on weekends, like a cigarette.
Remember, you can only get lung cancer
from a habit, not a treat.
But back to me and you,
We are fluid, or fluids, unpretentious, and clear—
not in the way of Scientologists,
unless you happen to be one,
in which case, you are clear in two ways.
You are mostly water. I turn on my tap,
and out you flow. You are water,
and you have feelings.
When people speak negative truths
about you, your water hears. Seventy percent
of you freezes under this contempt,
and not into chic ice cubes.
The other thirty percent is more resilient,
like leather gladiator sandals. Affirm yourself,
at least affirm most of yourself
and thank the water you drink.
It is your closest cousin.
The secret of poetry is cruelty.--Jon Anderson