I’m Not a Poet

Let’s be clear: I’m not a poet
I look at the poems in some magazines I read,
And no matter how friends and family might plead,
I’m not a poet

I wouldn’t mind being a poet
I admire William Carlos Williams, for example
Although of all his poems I’ve only read a sample

Lucretius is to be honored for his impressive intellect
His tribute to Epicurus a brilliant poem of deep respect
That’s one way to be a poet

T.S. Eliot is another matter entirely in my view
A giant, someone from a wholly different millieu
The Wasteland made me want to weep
A towering poet

Presently, Elizabeth Bishop has me in her thrall
I’d write like she if I had the poetic wherewithal
A fine, fine poet

The aspirations of this old man are modest
I do not wish to bring anyone to tears
Or raise in them unnecessary fears
I’ll leave that to the poets