I Do Not Know Why I Should Have A Poem Today Poem by Shalom Freedman

I DO NOT KNOW WHY I SHOULD HAVE A POEM TODAY

I do not know why I should have a poem today
I don’t deserve it-
When the body aches the mind tends to evaporate
I am just trying to maintain my way
Until the great heat wave passes.

If all I experience is part of my poem
Then how can Poetry be anything special?

Where is the miraculous transformation
From the ordinary to the surprisingly good?

I don’t know why I should have a poem today
I write these lines
As if my every thought were sacred-

But the great heat of the day
And the aches in my arms as I write
Say
‘It will never be good enough
no matter how hard I try.’