“Alan Smithee” is a pseudonym used by directors who refuse to be nominally associated with the final version of their film. Famous filmmakers who have had their names scrubbed from the credits of projects and replaced with “Alan Smithee” include David Lynch, Michael Mann, and William Friedkin.

Forget everything you’ve heard, or pretend

it was said by someone else. I’ve been told

every single cut was made in the service

of straightening what was made crooked—

as if that ever mattered in the first place.

In a stack of my key attributes, you’ll find

patience somewhere between loneliness

and survival. What I wanted wasn’t what

they wanted, but I still have to believe

it’s what you wanted—and that’s why

I even tried to begin with. I hope that’s clear

enough for you to see as the credits roll

and you read the names of everyone

who’s still proud of what they’ve done.