Sestina

TO MY POETRY PROFESSOR
(A Care I Post)

All right.
It’s been a long time
since I was supposed to have written this poem,
and I am once again
trying my best to write
this.

I dunno if I can do this!
I keep thinking it’s not right
and then I feel too inhibited to write,
time after time,
and the reason I try again
is because I know I have to finish this poem.

What bothers me most about the poem
is that it gives me this
feeling of repeating one thought again and again,
and to me that’s not right.
I’d exhaust the thought in no time,
And that is not how I want to write.

I wish I was able to write
the most beloved, preeimenent poem,
one that stands up to the might of Time,
but instead I pour out this,
a tired, unfocused, nearly-defeated man—I mean poem!
Oh, I wish never to write poetry again!

Okay, let’s try this again.
As long as the poem is in my own write,
and the pattern is just right
the resulting poem
will be the best I’ve written. This
one will be good. I’ll get it this time.

But Jesus, this is taking too much time.
I think I’m gonna give up again.
Agh, fuck this!
Six stanzas are too much for me to write!
I’m done with writing this poem.
I’ll never get it right.

Well now, it looks like this time I did all right,
and when I read through it again it’s not the worst poem,
but God, this sucked to write.