Dean Young's "True/False"

Two things stick out to me in Dean Young's "True/False." The first is format. The second is the line to line content of the poem. First the format. By numbering his lines 1 to 100 (although one is missing (its no. 25, by the way) as he notes with no. 54), Young gives each line its own self worth. Each line is introduced with a number, its own little title, and I think this, along with the title, allows the reader to grasp the gist of the poem a bit more. I think if these seemingly random lines were thrown down on paper without an organizational tool, such as numbering, that the poem may seem quite disjointed. But by using numbers, Young helps the reader along and gives the poem a playful vibe, something that is also aided by the title. And I love the line to line content of this poem. So much of the content seems like throw away material. But too often I think we look for the profound in poetry. I think this stuff is supposed to be fun. So when I read "2. I want to break things," it just makes me want to laugh. Plus, I actually have broken things, and it is a blast. Young also throws in a little John Donne, or it could be Marlow, I forget which one, on "64. Stay with me and be my love." I remember a line Matt talked about in class that is rather striking is "68. We are shadows thrown against a cave wall." It sounds good, seems mysterious and glib, but at the same time, I feel like I can't take this guy seriously because he also writes "35. I like sponge cake," and "44. I would have been a good cowboy." The point is I think, this poem is fun to read, it is interesting, the format makes it playful, but, more importantly, it is good poetry when I read it, I'm having fun.
*Mike McCune