it

i can’t hear silence

i can't hear silence 
but i can listen to it 
in pregnant darkness

it is a folly 
to confuse the poetry 
with the poor poet

civilization
depends on self deception
and it always has

it is my privilege 
to manifest the person
i was meant to be

when the sun rises
it ceases to be just one
of a billion stars

when wealth departed
it carried off nothing but
its own inertia

any point of view
can captivate my interest
if i offer it

every good haiku
carries within it the seed
of a thousand more

a queen-pawn exchange
is not really a blunder
if it wins the game

one taste of haiku
and then before you know it:
epic poetry