I AM NOT A POET

I am not a poet; the majority of you know it.

Don't ask me if I know the rules of this or that or other

Cause I will quickly say, "I don't!"

I will simply say, "Why bother?"

The things I write come from the heart

To you it makes no sense

Silly, stupid things unknown

But yet, it makes suspense.

The adverbs, yes, those "ly" words,

Thrown randomly around

Are jumbled up and mixed all in

They certainly do abound!

Don't ask me what a Haiku is

Why, I can't even spell it

I found it in an alphabet soup

The day I had the croup!

Up popped Hokku, Senryu, too

When I blinked my eyes.

I thought for sure I'd lost my mind

They were there in my soup brine!

And then Haibun, its friend Renku

Floated up like spirits do

Smashing them to go away

A ton of crackers...something heavy, it will do!

Then my mind went all awash

Those foreign words like glue

Bounced off the wall like rubber balls

I swear to you, it's true .

When I thought the time was safe

I should have poured it out

The Ballads, Dirge and Canto's too

Galloped up like a Mounties' mount!

Now, folks, I love to write and think

Don't poke fun at me

I think I'll stick to the simple rhymes

The ones my soup can't see!

No, I am not a poet; the majority of you know it.

Don't ask me if I know the rules of this or that or other

Just ask my soup it knows the rules

I'll simply say, "Why bother?"