Don’t Write Poetry - Everett Cruz

Don’t Write Poetry

about bees.
Though they keep you company
in the garden as you tend to your flowers.

And don’t write about flowers .
Though you love watching them
in the morning as they dance in the wind.

And never mention wind
Though it comforts you through the pain
like the soft whispers of the gentlest mother.

And mother? Avoid that word
Though you wish she’d sing to you
like the birds in an old oak
blanketed by blue skies beneath
a dusting of clouds warmed by the sun.

sun

clouds

skies

trees

birds

don’t even think about these words.
Though you long for them every time
the only nightlight is the moon.

And the moon, erase it from your memory
it belongs to all the other poets.

Originally published by Morning Fruit Magazine 2022

Everett Cruz (he, they) is a multicultural Filipino-American who grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. He lives and teaches in Denton, Texas, where he studies creative writing at the University of North Texas. His work has been or will be published in Brave Voices, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Resurrection Magazine, Dipity, Marías at Sampaguitas, Stanza Cannon, and Five South. Twitter @EverettCruzIsOK