Some people shy away from poetry
They like mine and will say so
Will ask if I am going to publish
I just give them a look and say
there is a lot of poetry out there
Some of it is terrible, they will say,
when I read what they are talking about
I have to agree with them
The poems start out with some
mythological character or ancient being,
then digress into a hodgepodge collection of lines
which are abstract in themselves and unrelated to
what was said before or after
Wasn’t it Lincoln who said you can fool
some of the people part of the time, etc.
I think these poets are writing for the
Guggenheim judges who will probably issue them
an award because they don’t get it either
I think most people are looking for something
they can identify with, something with substance that
they can chew on and think about
They tell me mine are like that
I haven’t won any awards, but at least I am appreciated
That makes a difference and is one of the reasons I write
I talked with an artist who stopped doing creative pieces and
switched to the abstract, meaningless pieces using
the accents of someone’s living room and
matching the colors in their couch
The people love them and pay me well, he said
What about your soul, I asked. I know what you’re saying, he answered, but I can’t feed my family on good work that doesn’t sell
He is sustained by deceiving himself and endures his self-betrayal
I kept my day job
Stanski
December 18, 2019^
Steve Haarman 