No Cigar

You can’t teach poetry pro forma
it’s the effort of a fool
You can’t gain sagacity from a book
or by the golden rule

You can’t be what you haven’t lived
the safety net misleads
You can’t bleed with another’s blood
transfused each phrase deceives

The dance floor or the balcony
true seekers get to choose
And write those words their pain has forged
—that dilettantes misuse

(Dreamsleep: April, 2023)