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Demetri Martin of Comedy Central, a stand-up comedian known for his LARGE PAD bits, has written a 224 word palindrome poem. It's pretty impressive. (via paste).

Dammit I'm Mad

Dammit I'm mad.
Evil is a deed as I live.
God, am I reviled? I rise, my bed on a sun, I melt.
To be not one man emanating is sad. I piss.
Alas, it is so late. Who stops to help?
Man, it is hot. I'm in it. I tell.
I am not a devil. I level "Mad Dog".
Ah, say burning is, as a deified gulp,
In my halo of a mired rum tin.
I erase many men. Oh, to be man, a sin.
Is evil in a clam? In a trap?
No. It is open. On it I was stuck.
Rats peed on hope. Elsewhere dips a web.
Be still if I fill its ebb.
Ew, a spider... eh?
We sleep. Oh no!
Deep, stark cuts saw it in one position.
Part animal, can I live? Sin is a name.
Both, one... my names are in it.
Murder? I'm a fool.
A hymn I plug, deified as a sign in ruby ash,
A Goddam level I lived at.
On mail let it in. I'm it.
Oh, sit in ample hot spots. Oh wet!
A loss it is alas (sip). I'd assign it a name.
Name not one bottle minus an ode by me:
"Sir, I deliver. I'm a dog"
Evil is a deed as I live.
Dammit I'm mad.

Roots

Since the advent of language, people have been creating their own venues in order to tell their stories, whether the stories have a specific purpose or are strictly for entertainment value. Every ancient civilization has their legends, myths, and stories, just as every culture has their renowned storytellers. Primarily, storytelling was conducted in the oral tradition in combination with expressions and gestures. Another primitive form of storytelling was through art, as seen in cave drawings. In the oral tradition, the storyteller provides the audience with mental images through words, songs, and movements to get his message across. Audience would then, in turn, interpret the story through their own personal experiences. No two stories were ever told in the same manner, nor were the audiences’ interpretations of the story. The experiences of both the storyteller and the audience, and how they interact are what make storytelling special. Storytelling is, indeed, the first true art form.

He ate and drank the precious Words
His Spirit grew robust

I love poetry. I read poetry. I write poetry. But every poet that I know is dead. The last one that mattered to me was Allen Ginsberg, who died in 1997. Maybe it's me; I tend to be in the Early Majority, which means I'm slightly ahead of the curve. But maybe I haven't yet found a modern poet who I can relate to. Or maybe poetry needs to age like wine. Or maybe the modern poets were writing songs, movies, television, and books. No matter what, the halcyon age of poetry is a bygone era.

Poetry is dead. I think. Either that or you have to be dead to be a great poet.