~ Poem ~
I have an abiding regard for embracing diversity,
for the import of the phrases “You Do You”,
“Do No Harm”, “Leave No Trace”,
and the premise “I’m Ok, You’re Ok” too.
I’m just a bloke who seeks to be enlightened
by engaging alternative points of view.
My poetry is about what’s pokin’ at me.
An ardently composed,
albeit unrefined melody.
I pluck bits and pieces of heart and soul
from the ether of my mind
in the wee hours
when it’s working overtime,
but before the clamor
of consciousness undermine.
I do not suffer from writer’s block.
Notions grow like wildflowers
so I rarely need to concoct,
only to pluck
before consciousness devours.
Poems are profoundly personal expressions
and ask only to be perceived without bias,
or critique, seeking only to opine.
And given the inherent harm of editing,
I tender them largely unrefined,
offering no apology for their tenor,
it simply was what it was at the time.
My primitive, frank, and relatable rhymes
are depictions of life’s circumstance,
written in the raw artless tenor of our times.
Just one bloke’s perspective are these,
with no illusions of my significance
or of the import of my work.
It is cathartic and it elevates my chi.
Nor do I fret over how others
might judge my work or me for it,
for to do otherwise would inhibit me,
and a reticent self-conscious poet
is doomed to an idle melancholy.
Ridge © 2023
