What Good Is Poetry? Poem by Tentative Poet

To awaken us,
Show us the honest beauty
Of our souls

To amuse us, to entertain,
Focus and centralize the variegated attention
Of us, poisoned by MTV, and shows of reality

To revel in the presence of mystery,
Expose the veiled layers of meaning
Our entangled lives keep hidden

To render helpless, to induce to smile,
Refresh our antiquated views of
How to live life vigorously

To reveal, to hide, to mystify and over-ride
The mired muck of our desperate lives,
Sweep clean tainted sensitivities

And wipe dry the muddied screens of mediocrity
To allow us, if lucky, a privileged glimpse of eternity,
In words rearranged, refreshed, revitalized,
And offered honestly