When I was a young poet of no consequence
I never imagined I would grow to be an old poet
of no consequence.
The fault is all mine.
I refused to join the academic assembly line
that insures poets have teaching jobs
so they do not starve to death.
Graphic artist was my day job.
I did not have tuition in my bank account
or a desire to take on student loans
to devastate my future bank account.
Can the term outsider be paired with poet?
I did gain consequence as an editor of anthologies.
Poets (at least) pretend to love editors
who may or may not publish their poetry.
It was a state-wide anthology not national.
Also I gained consequence as an emcee
of open mics with featured readers
and I paid the featured reader for reading their poetry.
Very few venues pay poets to read.
More people might have attended
the open mic I hosted if I hosted it
in a bar instead of a bookshop.
Beer is not necessary for hearing poetry.
When I was a young poet of no consequence
I thought I might meet other poets
who liked baseball and catch a game together.
copyright © 2022 Kenneth P. Gurney
Umflop 