the short life of some long poems

the short life of some long poems

 

long, long poems

lack of restraint

the poet expands, extends

pretends

 

to engage the reader

while boasting in a blatant

barrage

of words, words, words

 

long, long poems

combust after two stanzas

the farce is booed

the audience untraceable 

 

the poet needled

for nodding off

while still writing

 

sleepy drummers

have no beat

or one extinguished 

for lack of activity

for 4 hours

like Smart TV

 

sharp lines of congestion

impatiently

signify almost endings

thrice happened upon

with no solution

 

long, long poems

need lots of punctuation

many periods for rest

and a few dashes

just to bring the reader back to life.

 

 

erin-cilberto

10/31/24