Artists, writers, everyone who just wants their minds blown today--the key is the right state of mind. Try reciting this poem, "Electric Magistrate," by the amazing Emily XYZ. Stand up. Sometimes I recite this poem to myself while I walk the dogs. It's pure courage.

Emily has been a big influence on me since I first heard her perform with Myers Bartlett in a little gallery in SoHo, sometime in the early 1990's. She writes about money. Until I heard the poem below, "Matt Kahn's Email," which still gives me the chills, I hadn't realized how poetic (and important!) a meditation on money can be. Now it is one of my favorite subjects. And not because "more is better than less."

Emily XYZ reads at The Art House in Jersey City, NJ.

And while we're on the subject of money poems, here's a classic, "Cash." Enjoy!

Emily XYZ and Myers Bartlett read Emily XYZ's two-voice poem "Slot Machine." From The United States of Poetry episode "The Word." Copyright Washington Square Arts, 1995.