Of course I'm a poet
What else could I be?
In the beautiful light
That taught me to see
With intensity shown
and with such constancy
The terrible light
That forced me to see

The luminous sadness
The light brought in its wake
That lodged in my heart
And oft' caused it to break
And filled me with wonder
For wonderment's sake
By revealing my soul
The light doomed it to ache

The light came in slowly
With each new regret
Each instant of pain
I could never forget
The sadness malingered
Ineffably set
As if telling a joke
That it dared me to get

And each new misfortune
Brings with it the last
And backward through time
Backward into the past
'Til I start to surmise
How my die is cast
How some new disaster
Is following fast

So I am infused
With this pain and this fear
And this wonderment at
All this beauty that's here
I feel that the linkage
Between them is clear
The price of such insight
Is terribly dear

But this light is something
That everyone shares
Though often obscured
By everyday cares
By friendship and glory
And great love affairs
The soul is appeased
Ere it seeks out the glare

But those worldly things
On which others thrive
Seem all but mundane
I don't feel deprived
For it is the vision
That keeps me alive
Of course I'm a poet
It's how I survive