at a party, there I was
I was accused of bragging about being a poet
who brags about being a poet?
poets have imagination
and a special way of using words
behind dark glasses we take it all in
I think poets do their best work when they are unknown
sleeping in cold flats, eating beans and hot dogs on a good day
once they get some recognition
they become caricatures of themselves
often times becoming pseudo-intellectuals
who pretend they're more in tune with the world than they really are…
unconsciously self-conscious and no longer free
but there I was
at the party, seeing people not seeing people
miners in search of gold but looking in all the wrong places
but there I was
green around the gills and empty in the pocket
I was used to it////doing the art and poetry thing
better than earning wages
crash here, crash there, sometimes sleeping in the fresh air
but there I was
remaining pure and anonymous
living day to day - hand to mouth
once you taste success you lose that purity
could be overnight or a gradual drip
you go from being robert mitchum in his prime
to old robert mitchum trying to act like robert mitchum
it’s corrupted...it all changes, it’s never the same again
there isn’t any going back
it’s automatic pilot, speak by rote, color by number
some don’t but most do
maintain that purity - don’t sell out - stay anonymous
