Today I became a poet
I packed up Christmas decorations on
the first day of the New Year
I learned about quatrains and
shapely stanzas that take the form of
battered flags on the page.
I learned that I should know
when to be clear and when to be mysterious
I learned I can write about anything
there is no subject too soft or too slow
I can write about the love that I have for
my morning coffee or even the
mundane tasks of every hour.
I have always been afraid to write a poem
because I had no idea where to start
the rules have always seemed too complex but
now I know there are no rules
the hardest is starting, just write words and
they will magically fall into place.
Today I learned to write out my ideas
on paper first before typing them
because how else can you see a poem form
through all the various stages of its life
I'm wondering if these stanzas look like
battered flags on this piece of paper.
