Death By A Thousand Poems
By stevew
- 573 reads
I've got this notion of writing
a thousand poems
in my lifetime.
When else?
I'm approaching 200 now,
so I'm thinking of slowing down a bit
in order to keep things going
as long as I can.
If I stick to one a month
(tops)
I could still be going at 107
and even then
I might throw away a few
less worthy efforts
and not include them
in my official total.
I hope limericks don't count.
I knocked out four of those last week.
I'm afraid I've fallen into the trap
set by the critic, who dismissed poetry
as being about one thing only:
"isn't life short?"
That was nonsense, of course.
If only I could remember her name,
I'd send her a copy of this.
Might cheer her up -
back up her theory.
Just for her,
I'll admit it:
my concern that with every poem
I'm getting closer to death.
And I wonder, is there an after life?
A post-anthology transcendence?
God! I don't know.
And is there an end to this poem?
Or will I just go back
to the start again
and explain
my notion of writing a thousand poems
in my own time?
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