WHAT I WRITE

Your critique of
What I write
Is surely correct.

I am
Hero,
Heroin,
Villain,
And helpless Bystander
Of all I write.

Perhaps
the best I can do
Is a kind of
Elegant Narcissism.

If you can take only
Small doses of it,
Bless your heart;
I understand.

I can only take
So much of what's inside
And then
I just have to write.
You see,
This is not so much poetry
Or coarse prose
Than it is me
Trying to save myself.

If it means inconveniencing you with
What I write,
Why then,
I thank you for the indulgence
And with you as a witness
To my life
I can take
One more breath.