a poem: “An Apology to My Reader”
“ An Apology to My Reader “
Let me first say
an apology is not warranted
although I am sorry
you didn’t like my work,
I am sorry my words offend
or cause you pain, open wide
that hole in your heart
— yet isn’t that a part
of art’s ultimate calling?
— to make us feel something,
not always some things
we want but to unearth
what’s buried deep inside. It’s
the horror of the disgorged grave
as well as the exhilaration
of a ballerina’s pirouette,
the dyspepsia of an undigested
bit of tainted beef versus
the ecstasy of a lover’s embrace,
the shoulders shrugged against
the enigma of an ignorant world,
and the melancholic mind’s eye
turned inward despite willing
ourselves blind, so while
I wish you every happiness,
I also admit I want praise,
adulation even as I question
why anyone would spend
their hard earned cash, tender
payment to buy a book of mine.