When you read through my poems
you may think
Why so many love-poems?
Is there nothing else going on in the world?
Why have you not written anything
more profound
more trenchant
more aware of the human condition
or at least interesting enough
to warrant re-reading through the ages?
Thousands of years later people still read Sappho.
Wouldn't you like something like that?

Well, you know what they say:
Write what you know.
Love
is what I know.
All of my poems are love-poems.
Even my nature poems
even my austere poems about cold, clear snow
are love poems
for if the topic
the subject
the inspiration
doesn't have a spark of passion
I won't be able to write about it.


Besides,
love-poems were good enough
for Sappho!