You can’t teach poetry in college
or to write true verse in school
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)