Please Don'T Poem by Patti Masterman

Please don't make me learn algebra
In a poem; don't force feed me
Politics, religion lessons-
Don't lecture about the useless job you have;
I know people on welfare buy stupid things,
I know bosses are ignorant, and programs are redundant,
I know governments are clueless and shortsighted:
Just- can't you- find one beautiful thing,
That has never before been said; simple really.
It's not always necessary to go into the breakdown of society,
Or stupify us with your moral landscape;
Just because you can come up with an unsolvable dilemma,
Doesn't mean it will make the perfect subject matter.
It's not show and tell, or even kiss and tell.

I don't need to know that you get up every day
And drive yourself to a boring job.
Everyone does that; what I want to find out
Is what you saw today, that was different from yesterday,
From last month, last year,
What was unexpected; tremendous; heartbreaking-
In fact if you can, just leave the driving out of it
(But remember no cussing at other drivers)
Now try to describe that unusual thing
You have never noticed before;
That you may never come upon again
And make me burn inside, wanting to see it too.
If you can make me feel I might die, if I never come across it
That's even better: then your work as a poet is finished;
And then you can go do all those things that you do
Every day- that I don't need to hear about.

Actually, you can write about anything you want to:
Just don't let it be common..