I doubt being
a poet
all your life,
doing nothing other
than writing
and reading
and editing,
can make for very
good poetry

what does a poet know
about real life?

he sits in his room,
he types,
he listens to music,
drinks fine liquor,
gets angry at things,
or loves things instead,
but if all he does is

write

how does he know
what you do?

I don’t seek to be a
“professional poet”

in fact,
I’m afraid
of it

afraid,
that I could never be
“a poet”
if I were to become a
“professional”
one

I want to work,
and learn,
and see the
world,
and then write
about it

because that’s the world
you
(the reader)
know
and
the world
you
read my poetry
to find answers
for

so I stay away
from the world of
poetry

I scorn it
and
love it
at the same
time

and again,
I am both the center
and the outsider
of one of the few
things I love
in this world