Decide what a poem should be;

That’s what the heroes say

 

I try

 

Then someone, always someone,

asks me again,

“You writin’ a novel?”

So,

I stop to talk

because that is the point

of this poetry…

to meet people

to step outside the box

 

We chat

awkwardly,

because I try to speak what you wish to hear

That’s what life has taught me;

That strangers always want to hear something,

specifically,

and profound

from a traveling poet.

 

I am polite

I humor and engage

satisfy their curiosity

 

and I try again

back to this page

only to realize

I have decided nothing on the content

yet I have a poem nonetheless

 

 

 

af

 

 

 

(written on pen & paper)