Summary

In “Lighthead’s Guide to the Galaxy” the speaker, presumably Lighthead, begins by addressing the audience as “Ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and children of the state,” stating they are here because they could never get the hang of time (1). Lighthead continues, musing about a variety of universal topics such as sex, poetry, and the purpose of art. Lighthead equate poetry to abstract concepts such as “not what you see, but what you perceive,” and “not the noise, but its rhythm” (1). They also suggest art’s only purpose is to preserve the self. Lighthead is not perfectly candid with the reader throughout the poem, stopping at times to rein themselves back in after meditating on a certain topic for too long.

“All the Way Live” tells the story of the speaker and his friend, Hieronymus, who, dressed in skirts and wigs, vandalized a statue...