For a spell during the 1960s, Robert Creeley's 'I Know a Man' may have been the most often quoted, even the most widely known, short poem by a living American. Here is the poem:

As I sd to my
friend, because I am
always talking, - John, I

sd, which was not his
name, the darkness sur-
rounds us, what

can we do against
it, or else, shall we &
why not, buy a goddamn big car,

drive, he sd, for
christ's sake, look
out where yr going.

LRB 21 February 2008 | PDF Download