BEING A POET

First published in April 2021

Well, you don't choose,
you just are - words
are in your blood. They
motor through your head,
land on the screen
in some kind of order.

You juggle words, store
them in your pockets, spill
them out, black on white.
You listen to their music,
their phrasing, stand still
to hear their songs.

Being a poet lets you
paint with words, build
your own rainbows,
colour bland print
with the blues of seas,
the silver of sadness,
the gold of joy.

Being born a poet is
the luck of the draw,
that world of words
at your fingertips, that
impulse to share
the magic in your mind.

Not that poems just
happen - being a poet
is damn hard work, but
when the words come
out right, believe me,
there's nothing to beat it.