Except anchovies and now (doctor’s orders) cheese,
Except 13, except when it’s the only window seat left,
Except a glass of white wine with dinner,
Except the Cubs, except Ernie Banks saying “Let’s play two,”
Except Elvis and Jesus, except Oprah and Madonna,
Except snowflakes, each, and Starbucks, all,
Except Las Vegas or Buffalo or Salt Lake,
Except North Dakota, except Mississippi,
Except spiders and jellyfish, rattlesnakes and slugs,
Except the duck-billed platypus and the dodo bird,
Except music, which doesn’t ever say why,
Except Rothko, his red, and Stevens, his angel, his 13 blackbirds.
Except libertarians, except when they happen to be right,
Except World War II, except before Pearl Harbor,
Except to save the life of the mother,
Except the fine print, the back story, the chapter torn out,
Except in translation, except what gets lost.
