No Cigar

You can’t teach poetry pro forma

it’s the effort of a fool

You can’t gain sagacity from a book

or by the golden rule

You can’t be what you haven’t lived

the safety net misleads

You can’t bleed with another’s blood

transfused each phrase deceives

The dance floor or the balcony

true seekers get to choose

And write those words their pain has forged

—that dilettantes misuse

(Dreamsleep: April, 2023)