every poem I read now
makes me even more cynical
as I think
“I’ve been doing
better than this
for
years!”

every poem I read now
has too many words
and say way too
much

they’re all by whiny children
who have no perspective
or basis in
reality

I
cannot read
the poetry of my
peers
without
those cynical voices
yelling at me from behind
my shuffling eyes

each poem now
is too full with fat
of a generation born
on excess

each poem I read
I cannot enjoy
as I look from the outside in
and realize that I am far
from being different from
these children that disgust me
so