Bureau Of Tourism

It's been quite some time since I posted any poetry. I suppose that my enthusiasm has waned somewhat, but I suspect that it will wax again at some time. After all, the prospect of being paid for writing remains a powerful motivator, and I am all the more confident of my ability to achieve it with poetry after having read what passes muster at the poetry periodical to which I have submitted work in the past. Perhaps I'm biased, but I happen to think my stuff is better.

This poem is meant to be longer, but I must confess that I grew impatient, and rashly stripped away the letter which I had in place to remind me of the rhyme scheme. I really don't even recall what form of poem it's supposed to be, but I do know it customarily has two more stanzas at least. Well, for once I will bend to the prevailing reading habits of the world and make something shorter and not longer. I do hope you'll enjoy it in spite of the fact that I have gone against my usual inclinations by speaking ill of my own work and not letting people work out whether it's good or not on their own. Maybe if it proves to be a good start I'll finish it.

~

I must make a defense of my home state
You have the wrong idea- it's not so bad
The Grand Canyon State is indeed most great
I assure you a great time can be had
If now the politics upset you so
Please understand that's not all that we are
Just as it's cool up north and hot elsewhere
We have both bigots and folks you should know
Please just pack a bag and get in your car
Most here are your friend instead of your foe

~

As you can tell, the roiling tempest of venomous bigotry and cynical politics back home continues to wound em. Each day's news brings a fresh embarrassment or shame, and I feel impulses to lie about where I'm from that are ever so slightly less fleeting each time. I hope this isn't something I'll have to live with all my life, but it's hard to see the tide turning. I'm sure at least that it won't do so as a result of my humble efforts in literature. Luckily, there are more talented writers than I probably on the case. After all, Arizona is blessed with an abundance of cowboy poets, and if they can't be counted on to be reasonable, who can?