Poem of the Day 04.18.23

hiatus

i haven’t written anything
but a grocery list
in two weeks

it’s times like these
you think, why not bag it up and stop?

the world could use
one less poet in it

but three mags just took my stuff
so i’m on an ego boost

up with the morning dj
that i’ve been listening to for years

up before the sun
can infect the sky with its madness

and the desk is full of half-finished poems
story and novel notes

a list of places to send more poems

i don’t recognize the ambitious guy
who sat here fourteen days ago

i’ve been on a two-week bender

my head and eyes hurt
and all can shit are small bricks

i look at the poem fragments and notes
and it’s all gibberish to me

it all goes in the trash
and i sit there staring at the wall

waiting on either a renewal
or a suicide

only i have no clue
which one it’s going to be.