Jason for Day 21-- CAUGHT UP!!!

Mentoring Poets

I said, well, who are you reading
and he said, oh, I don’t read other poets
and I said, then how do you know
that what you are writing is
poetry? and he said well, it rhymes
and I said, where do you read
and he said what do you mean
and I said you know, open mics, places
you might meet other poets
and he said, I told you, I don’t
read poetry, or listen to other poets
or meet other poets and I said
why not? and he said, they might
steal my ideas, and I said usually
a poet is valued more for his style
than his ideas, and he said
do you think these poems could be
a book, and I said, I won’t read
them, and he said, why not,
and I said, because I don’t read
other people’s poems, I don’t
want to be accused of stealing.