I remember reading Charles Bernstein's poem "A Poem is not a Weapon" about two years ago when it first appeared in the second issue of The Canary and how hard it made me laugh. For thought:

A Poem Is Not A Weapon
for/after Tom Raworth

[THIS POEM REMOVED FOR INSPECTION AND VERIFICATION]

This being a year of transition for me, as I was trying to get away from the influence Ashbery/O'Hara and Dean Young/Tony Hoagland had on me, which ultimately lead me to August Kleinzahler and the Objectivists.

That same year, Bernstein published in POOL the poem "Thank You for Saying Thank You." At the time, having had some misconceptions as to what Language Poetry was, it slightly irritated me by its seeming thumbing of the nose at the reader, its way of saying "Fuck you, Dear Reader" as Bernstein opens it with:

This is a totally
accessible poem.
There is nothing
in this poem
that is in any
way difficult

Now, with less earnestness and more humor, it makes me laugh, in a good way.