A funny thing happened on the way to Wallace Stevens' later poetry

[rayheinrich]

...

This poem I first read when I got that Outlaw Bible of American Poetry. It's a d a levy poem
from Tombstone as a Lonely Charm (Part 3)

if you want a revolution
return to your childhood
and kick out the bottom
...

---

Maybe we don't even have children buried in us. Maybe we have nothing. And that's fresh

Just having a bit of out-of-context fun:

"if you want a revolution"
I don't want an actual violent revolution cuz those tend to get people in power that
are worse than the ones that lose it. But I can think of some personal revolutions:
Like getting the energy to paint the window trim on my house.

"return to your childhood"
I'm assuming there's some kind of metaphor working here and not depending on an
actual time machine. One way is to unlearn everything you've learned since childhood.
Profound. A way of saying revolution is impossible? Though maybe through drugs/brain damage?
That's pretty iffy. But hell, we're talking about revolution here so maybe induced
brain damage is the way to go.

"kick out the bottom"
Haha, okay, that's definitely one of those cool-sounding, macho things people put in poems
to get attention. Maybe the poem's advising you to perform some sort of drastic act that
changes the basis/bottom of your being/essence or what not (somewhat like #2 above).
There must be a self-help book somewhere with detailed instructions; probably only a
Bing AI question away.

So: If you want a revolution: Become a different person.
Gee, thanks for the criminally clichéd advice, dude.