The Proof - a poem

[antigone382]

It's a little more tongue-in-cheek than most of my stuff, but the only thing that isn't too maudlin. I have a long way to go as a poet (and a bad habit of writing poems about writing poems), so give me some suggestions, please!

The Proof

It will not be
When my first major foray into the literary world
Is greeted with critical acclaim
Read widely,
And propelled to the top of local book club lists,

Nor
When my second work is perceived as
Somewhat lackluster,
Too deviant from my first effort
And really just a cheap copy of it.

It will not be after my tumultuous descent,
After I fade into obscurity
Or after I achieve a tragic death in poverty.

Perhaps years later,
When the virtues of my work are quietly rediscovered
And the revival begins,
Culminating in posthumous lifetime achievement awards
And general recognition as a misunderstood
Mistreated genius, ahead of my time?

No, not even then.

It won’t be until my least inspired piece
Selected by some myopic professor and
Accompanied by a grossly oversimplified
And mildly inaccurate biography

Appears in the glossy pages of a weighty literature book
Where disgruntled teenagers are compelled
By some charmingly spacey English teacher, hoping
To inspire a thirst for literary quality,
To read it.

How glorious, their groans!
As they lament their boredom
And my corresponding irrelevance!
Oh, what rapturous proof of my validity,
As they waste away their tragic evenings
Subject to the unmitigated torture of acquainting themselves
With the fruits of my lifetime of exhausted effort.

Yes, only then
When I and all I struggled to achieve is despised
By high school students the world over,
Then I will have joined that vast, elite circle
Of literary greatness.

[oneighty]

1. "The Dead Poet Society"

Hee hee hee!

You have much truth in your poem.

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[antigone382]

2. Thanks!

:hi:

[oneighty]

3. I too have dreams

of a 'Too late for me discovery!' But I would not wish children to be tortured over it!

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[antigone382]

4. LOL! It just always struck me as a bit ironic.

These writers would spend their lives and energies devoted to their craft, often forcing themselves into misery in the process, all to create something fresh and bold, something to shock the elitists and expose some vital truth. And in the end those very same elitists are the only ones who give a d*mn, or claim to give a d*mn, and a bunch of teenagers IM each other about how boring they are.

And yet, I still want to be a writer! :shrug:

[oneighty]

5. I write because I want to.

And it is fun. And I seek adulation for my efforts. Don't we all? Money do not matter. 'Oh wows' are good enough for me!

I think writers take themselves far too serious. Except me of course.

180

PS. Just checked my dictionary to make absolutely certain 'Adulation' is a real word.

It is.

180

[JitterbugPerfume]

6. a cool poem

i like it

[antigone382]

7. Thanks!

:)