poet's choice

poet's choice

this evening finds me extra grateful that
poets like mary oliver or billy collins
wrote about wild geese instead of picking up
the dry cleaning
traipsed through woods along a creek or
listened to jazz records when they could
have lunched with friends
chose these words here on the page over arranging
furniture (which will also fall into
someone else's hands)
and instead caught warmth
to share when i read
then write, dinner long gone cold
in favor of torch-passing
keeping flame
alive

ls 9.16.19