Doesn’t have to be much,
just a few lines,
I often tell people trying
to write one.
Or in the words of a poet
I greatly admire, It doesn’t have
to be good—
it just has to be true.
So we set down the truest thing
we can say in this moment
on a page, watch it wriggle
and decide whether
to stay put or climb to its little feet
and leave. It’s not so much
up to us, as it is up to the words.
Nope, gonna get going,
or, I think I like it here. Gonna stay.
And when the latter happens,
we call it inspiration,
imagining that the poem flew in
on a whoosh, and we cleverly
grabbed it and set it down, when
really, it’s beyond our control.
Which, come to think of it,
might be the best definition
after all.
•••
• With thanks to poet Esther Cohen for the title borrowed from “Another Laundromat Poem”
https://overheardec.substack.com/p/another-laundromat-poem
• In this case (because I have many), the “poet I greatly admire” is Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, who publishes her daily poems here:
https://ahundredfallingveils.com/
Güd wrtr 
Yes!
Thanks for your daily poems enough, too!
This is so true and such a clever way to put it. Glad they decided they like it on your page.
PS: Rosemerry is one of my favorite poets as well.
Thank you so much!
Hi Jan,
I’ve been kicked off FB – so til I can fix it…… love the inspiration from Esther Cohen and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer (I finally realized how she spells her first name!)
Love, Cindy
Poor you! Glad to see you here, though… and yes, isn’t that a sweet spelling of Rosemerry. She is, too!