the poem i need today
i need to write a poem right now
this is not my normal wish to write a poem
where i wonder if i matter at all, make something
a little bit unexpected and a little bit pretty
show it to a friend, when they smile
i've made their day better
and demonstrated to myself that the earth can bear
my sorry weight for another day or two
i need
the one act of beauty and generosity
into which i can sublimate the sadness
that wants to erase everything
energies of chaos channeled into
a complex construct capturing doom
and radiating hope
