Ibland behövs helt enkelt lite regler, och då är det förträffligt att Kenneth Koch har skrivit dikten Some general instructions.

För den som vill läsa hela dikten – och det är den värd – finns den här från arkiven hos New York Review of Books (1975). 

Det är klokskap, ömsinthet och humor i en fin blandning.

” … Do not be defeated by the

Feeling that there is too much for you to know. That

Is a myth of the oppressor. You are

Capable of understanding life. And it is yours alone

And only this time. Women who appeal to you

Should be told so, and loved, if you can, but no one

Should be able to shake you so much that you wish to

Give up. The sensations you feel are caused by outside

Phenomena and inside impulses. Whatever you

Experience is both “a person out there” and a dream

As well as unwashed electrons. It is your task to see this through

To a conclusion that makes sense to all concerned.”