how many more

How many poems can I produce

in the course of one year?

100

1000

only stopping between each to get a cup of coffee

have a smoke

f**k

work part time

and watch the weather channel

lay on the sofa

in nothing but my underwear

stuffing my face full of potato chips

and chess pieces

Somewhere between 25 and 30 poems

I get up from my chair

take a shower

call my publisher

tell him that my poetry isn't enough

and that I need more booze to survive

Where do I grab these insane ideas from?

Why do ink cartridges survive the storms

of my self loathing?

To many questions

not enough time to answer them

nor do I care about answering them

because answers never satisfy my thirst

and Pennsylvania is cold this time of year

My black turtleneck feels like skin

like the skin of a much younger me

it makes me feel good looking again

like I haven't aged in three decades

like I haven't lost what ever it is

that I can not find or obtain again

As I sit here now

working on this poem

typing at half speed

because the grey goose is chasing me

I try to remember what year this is

and what number poem this is

and if my mother is still selling jewlery at the fairs

if my grandmother is still lonely in a housefull of children

if my brothers still serve burgers

and how many more f*****g roofs will i have to tear off

and put back on

I wonder if this poem is number 99 or 100

or if it is much less than that

or if it is much more

or maybe much is a word I should put in the dryer

with fabric softener

loosen it up

and wear it over my turtleneck

I need much

much more sleep

much more booze

much more time

much...

no......many more ideas

many more poems

many more hours

many more days

and a visionary tied to my ankles

because that's where I keep my poetry

when I fight wars and get vocabulary stuck in my shoe

Reviews

[MrJodie]

Looking around at the stark reality and putting it down, line after line. It's easy to describe a place, a situation, an object. However, putting them all into a context, filling them with purpose and then creating the conflict that causes the tension... now that's poetic.

This isn't just a poem, it's a real conflict. A battle to choose the right descriptive word. Only one can bring much... er, many more that are worthy to stand with it. These happen to be worthy.

Very well done. True, or not, it doesn't matter. It's real, here, isn't it?

[Flow]

Maybe out of context but I think a great writing is one that makes one think, dream, imagine or remember. All your poems do all of the above. I use to count my poems and treasure them like gold then I learned they are an endless river as deep as my soul so I lost count somewhere in the thousands. This poem just made me think of all the ones that i lost on old pc's broken relationships and just plain bad management. so thank you

[Angelic Darkness]

Another good poem, and probably so true to life and how we feel.

[Poeticpiers]

the number of poems written is matterless. A poet writes because he is compelled to write even if no one ever reads them. I gave up on publishers I produce and print my ownso I have freedom to write what I want to write in the way i choose to write it. Nobody gets rich writing poetry