Metapoem

i have no message for you.
If i did, i'd send you mail.
No fresh insights, no causes,
no attempts to change your mind.
i have no influences,
i come from no school,
i'm untutored in style and history,
and know nothing of conventions.
i have not workshopped,
nor been peer-reviewed.
i do not push the boundaries of verse.
Real Poets have nothing to learn from me.

Because i only write of love, of longing,
of losing, of getting older,
of the oh-so-ordinary things i see around me.
i write for myself, it's true.
But you, you may find some solace here.
At the very least you'll find
that you're not alone;
at most, words
for a thought you hadn't spoken.
More i cannot give.
May it be enough.

August 2004 (read at September 5th reading)