[A. E. Stallings]

I'm glad you like it!

There is something essentially minimalist about doling out lines in five syllables only, syllable by syllable, that suits the subject very well. A dimeter, say, that allowed of extra syllables as substitions would not work so well here. I love, too, how "I indulge myself" does seem to indulge in those disyllabic words (which are themselves mouthfuls of consonants and vowels), how "refusals" is itself rich in a syllabic poem--taking up three syllables of real estate (and the alliteration with "rich" also seems aurally rich in such a minimalist poem)--and how "suffices" does itself exactly suffice in its arithmatic at the end of the line. But you are quite right, the second stanza which shifts into edgy enjambments does stand (or lie down) at a sort of 90 degree angle! Even the title does such great work--the "thin man" becoming the thin letter "I" itself (myself).