Some words for the week

what does it mean to be a poet

is it waking up before work

and writing until you have to leave

trying to get some words down

between the day and night shift

is it living on nothing

and writing all the time

sleeping in friends couches

in tents in shacks

at your parents house

is it working at a university

or a high school

forcing kids to read books

they’ll skim and hate

is it living in love or rejecting it

is it being alone

or with people all the time

is it working hard

or waiting till the magic comes

is it longing

is it longing?

no matter

I’m at work now

and there is a spider

on a scrap piece of wood

I set the corner of the wood

onto the dirt

and coax him off with a finger

and I am glad I didn’t kill him

Alexander Shalom Joseph is a writer from Gilpin County. He is a published author. For more information and to subscribe to Alexander’s Newsletter go to alexandershalomjoseph.com