Poetry Reading
(Explanation 1)
Everyone expects a poem to rhyme
at some time
or another.
My brother
blames it on those creatures -
English teachers.
I don’t!
I won’t!
Rather let me say, the poem
begins to roam
while most people stay at home.
It would be easy
and kind of sleazy
for me
to blame TV.
Let me just say
that today
poems don’t have the time
to rhyme.
So don’t get upset
just let
your mind
find
the pulse in the words,
just like flocking birds,
you see
poems are wild and free.
Hollow Notes
In Philadelphia
for the third day
of an I.R.S. audit,
I visit the Liberty Bell
during the lunch break.
About to lose
My shirt
and with nowhere
to turn,
I suddenly realize
that this bell
ain’t all
it’s cracked up to be.