“Write me a poem”
He breathes with conviction,
While smoky deceptions
Make veins in the air.
Guilt puppets children of
Guilt left by parents of
poets who write out of fear
for their art.
So poets make pages
Of doodles and drawings
And daughters write poems
For fathers who smile
But wish that their children
Would learn about grammar
And dance in pink slippers
Too small for their feet.
“Just write me a poem”
He makes it sound simple,
Forgetting that daughters
Don’t always write rhymes.