PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

Poetry can not

only be committed

looking at alarm clocks

and coffee mugs and shaving cream

Poetry can be committed

by anyone

even your next door neighbor

or the usher at the movie theatre

or the captain of a cruise line

You never know!

Coming from back alleys

and rowhouses; California beaches

and other locales

could be a SEPTA train

or a Thai restaurant

or a wrestling card

It comes from doctors

It comes from convicts

It comes from ministers of the Lord

It comes from poets of the spirt

Though the poem

don’t want to flow

and the vision

suffers great doubt

I feel I shall

overcome

I feel I shall

rise above

It’s just that

the plight has

so many pitfalls

and I suffer

them nightly

in the absence

of any real inspiration

but the moment

does rise

from time to time

that ecstatic vision

and euphoria set in

Those little glories

are supposed to be

what it’s all about

but I ain’t sure

of semantics, syntax

or aesthetics

It’s all over my head

I can not claim

to revel in its glory

I am a mere pawn

in this game;

the serf in rags

down on the corner

begging for change

I am the infidel

and the sinner

I am the man

your mother warned you about

but I am also a

a sunset on the beach;

falling Autumn leaves;

the smattering of stars at night—

I am presumably

a poet

(presumption mine)

I am hopeful

the glimmer of light

in my eyes

has not been smothered

though I am doubtful

and the poem won’t go

I am still that dreamer;

that buccaneer of the soul

The vision does suffer

impairment from insight

and speculation

The poem is doubtful

but the title

of Poet shall be retained

for ego’s sake

It’s all I really have

7/24/91