The Necessary Poem

someone said

in times like these

we need a poem

so I set about to write

the necessary poem

where to start?

with the laundry list of catastrophes and injustices

that define our days?

no need to list the daily obvious

what necessary thing

shall the necessary poem

carry in its pocket:

hope? healing?

gratitude for those sparse gifts

in these overwhelming times?

the necessary poem should have beams

to hold it together

walls of words that

define and explain

a roof of constructs

that shelter and protect

then the poem shall be my house

the place where I live

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