how many poems
began with the words
"I am"?

I am good
I am bad
I am misunderstood
I am steadfast
I am strong
I am wonderful
I am my best
I am better than you
I am not better than anyone
I am who I am
they write
over
and
over
again

so few poems tell us
the story of these good
and bad and other-wised
defined people

so often are we concerned
with getting them right we
forget who they really are:

fathers and grocery clerks,
jail-birds, school teachers,
drunks, priests, writers and
critics, hotel owners, bag-
stuffers, and not to mention
all the drivers of automobiles

these people
could all declare
that they are:

good/bad/strong/misunderstood/
steadfast/strong/wonderful/their
best/better than you/not better
than anyone/themselves

but until we see that they are
we have only their word and
centuries of ****** skepticism