number 22

i had a brilliant idea
earlier for a poem
not an idea for a brilliant poem
but a brilliant idea
and that idea was this

pretend i had a brilliant idea
for a brilliant poem
but allowed the passing of time
to let that flame wither
and sputter out
without feeding it
a sufficient jumble of
sounds and symbols
to truly turn it into
a conflagration of truth
so profound
you’d feel physically ill
just reading it

then realized
that would just be
plagiarizing