Poetry as Solace

Poetry as Solace

As music is a solace, so is verse,
At least for some of us that have this vice
That has its virtue, more than smoking does
Or all the things that now distract our minds
And so are used to soothe the jangled nerves
That need the numbing that these things provide.

And I confess that I have written lines
Not only when inspired but also when
The madness and the din that is around
Had made me seek my solace—not in drink,
But in the rhythms and the stillness that
I’ve often found in writing lines of verse.
 
2018 December 30th, Sun.
Brooklyn, New York