How To Poem

(Or, Why I Have Dark Circles)

How To Poem

1) Write a poem; open a wound. A deep, sucking wound.

2) Crushed, tear the treacherous thing from it’s book.
(Careful not to rip the lines!)

3) Crumple and toss over a cold shoulder, holding your hand to your heart to stop the bleeding.

4) Try to sleep; fail.
If only rest came as quickly as uncalled thoughts.

5) Spend exactly half the night convincing yourself
- I am not broken.

6) Spend the rest forgiving yourself for being human,
placing your head at the foot of your bed without shame.

7) Drift off, lulled by a riot of bright eyed birds.

8) WAKE UP!

9) Tumble towards the coffee pot,
tripping over the heaviness of a crumpled page.

10) Read your poem; find it beautiful.
 (How silly you’d been the night before)