The Rules of Poetry

I love poetry

I despise poets

The pseudo-intellectuals that force rhymes

They read Dr. Seuss and perhaps Oscar Wilde

They act like experts wearing pea coats drinking espresso at Starbucks

They observe life through a haughty lens

Preferring MacBooks to paper and pens

I don’t mind the ones who seem to care

But they’re as far apart as “here” and “there”

I’ll write out lines that I feel matter

And in the mud of hypocritical chatter

I defend the art that some shatter

If there’s a grassy hill

They have to reference Hemingway

And even sadder still

Is a poem that fits the bill

It follows rules and meets expectations

It won’t cut corners or regulations

But sometimes you want to be different

Fly in water and swim through air

And write words on pavement or trees

And maybe an ending is really a beginning

I tell you, I love poetry