after one line, word by word,
til it's done:
As a poet, you learn
to get over it. As a poem, to get
into it, then perhaps through it.
As a poet, you express yourself.
As a poem, you'll come to see
what that means.
As a poet, you have borne
authenticity's cross. As a poem,
you can finally bear to put it down.
As a poet, you were lost
but now are found.
As a poem, you won't care;
you'll be at home everywhere.
As a poet, you'll mature;
you will learn to bare your soul.
As a poem, you'll make
a coat for that soul
to keep the poor thing warm.
