Lawrence Ferlinghetti's strange, broken poem, "Constantly Risking Absurdity" risks all the absurdity imaginable: a poem published in 1958, that uses Old English poetics (think "Beowulf") to explain the way the creative act risks the death of "Beauty" in the "empty air of existence." It's a haunting tribute to what it takes to make something, to create something, to find yourself risking it all for beauty, whether at your computer, in the studio, in the gardens, or in the kitchen.