Christina A. Sharik

AT 4:30 am ~ 1

I am reading
“The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry”
and not understanding
some of the poems;
I’m reading them now,
because I can’t sleep.
My son gave
me the book
and so, it’s a treasure
I will always keep.

These are not
Robert Frost, Rod McKuen
or Sara Teasdale poems
(Sara’s my fave)
These are “beat” poets,
“outlaw poets” who rant and rave –
poets who lived near
Ashbury & The Haight
like Dylan, Bob
and Kerouac, Jack ~
their words full of
love, peace, rebellion
and sometimes hate –

The poems at
4:30 AM
are making more and more
sense, you know –
especially since the other day,
when the neurologist said:
“You need to prepare
yourself for chemo”.