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DON'T STOP IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE
As I was reading my poem to Deborah…a daily ritual I adore…
she stopped me saying, “Jim, I think I’ve heard this poem before.”
Words that immediately began to echo…to reverberate in my ears…
words, I dare to imagine, every poet fears.
Then I did a little research…which is not at all absurd!
Did you know a normal person’s vocabulary is between 20,000 and 35,000 words?
If the poems I write each day contain 100 words (Yes, I know this estimate is low!)
then at the end of just one year…I’ve already written…every word I know!
I’ve been writing a poem a day for 10 years…yes, 10 years in a row…
which means I depleted my entire vocabulary…around 9 years ago.
Then I thought how my poems are about subjects mean something to me…
like life, and love and happiness…nature and family.
I write on topics and themes that are near and dear to my heart…
lLike fate, acceptance, kindness, peace…miracles, music and art.
These are the things that make my life worthwhile…
and I hope I never change them…
And as for those 35,000 words…the best I can do is constantly rearrange them.
In summary…and to by defense…I provide this short and quick re-cap
with only 35,000 words to work with…there’s bound to be overlap!
So…if you happen to be reading one of my poems…hopefully a poem that you adore…
and you begin to wonder to yourself…’I think I’ve read this poem before!’.
Smile and keep reading….be it day…or be it night…
because when it comes to this particular poet…
you probably are right.
