Almost April national poetry month
(Maybe I’ll write a how to write a poem series)
Writing a poem isn’t as hard
as you think. Especially if
you don’t pay attention to formal forms
or any form at all, if you are in the
Allen Ginsberg school. Some
suggestions here. Talk to your next
door neighbor. Ask them
What Would You Say About Yourself
if You Were a Poem? Then write it down.
(One of my next door neighbors many
years ago, Ida G., said she didn’t much like
her husband Harry. That became many poems.
I inventied reasons for what was wrong with Harry.
He snored. He was anti-romantic. He wore
plaid pajamas. He didn’t read much. He
was entirely predictable. Harry became many poems.)
Go to CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aide
or any drugstore. Stay there a while,
where people pick up prescriptions.
Yesterday I heard a man named Alfonso
date of birth 8/12/49 tell well-tattooed Jamal
that he met his wife at CVS. They were both
picking up statins. His a higher dose.
Once you realize that poems are everywhere,
your only task will be to write it down.
I really really love this. Your open eyes and heart make my life better.xxxooo Miss you…
Your voice comes through so clearly in your poetry because your ear is tuned in to the miracle of ordinary people and ordinary conversations. Thanks for capturing them for us.