Barrett Watten's poem is short and deliberately puzzling, and it doesn't hand you a clear story. It begins with an "if": if this were a method, you would have to stay awake. That suggests that following any system or procedure demands constant alertness, maybe even a kind of strain. The next line, "Ethics explain one's position," sounds like a rule, but it's slippery. Do our values show where we stand, or do they only justify it after the fact?
Then the tone shifts. "I carry my head with me wherever I go" is plain, almost funny, and also a little heavy. Wherever the speaker travels, their own mind comes along, with its thoughts and judgments and sleeplessness. There's no escaping it.
The mood is dry, watchful, and slightly uneasy. The speaker doesn't seem panicked, just aware, stuck with their own thinking. The odd, clipped statements make you read slowly and fill in the gaps yourself.