You can access the so-called poems by clicking on their titles in the right-hand column. There is also an introduction, called “*Eric Chaet.”

Tho, given
prevailing conditions
it is approximately
impossible
this collection
of so-called poems
exists—
as much as
Homer’s Iliad
or Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching
or Isaiah’s Book
or Dante’s Divine Comedy
or Whitman’s Leaves of Grass—
or a rock or water
or the Chinese Communist Party
or the American
Republican or Democratic Parties
or the Iranian or Russian government
or the national oil companies
of Brazil, Malaysia, or Mexico
as Somalia, Sudan, or Guinea
or BP or Shell or Exxon-Mobil
or Al-Qaeda or JPMorgan Chase
or the Bank of England
or Apple or Google or Microsoft
or various nuclear arsenals
or politically-awarded subsidies
or the cost of getting elected to represent people
who can’t afford to contribute to your campaign
even if they weren’t so furiously cynical, so fatalistic
so trapped in the herd they wrap themselves in for warmth
as light, photosynthesis, sight, as blood, bone, breath
or the place where you buy groceries, or the groceries.

Patience & perseverance
learning & practice
integrity & adaptability
refusal to accept what’s wrong
initiative & follow-thru
one life-time at a time.

I don’t find most poetry
whether ancient, modern, or contemporary
of much value to me—
but the poetry I find that is valuable
is valuable as little else is.
I hope you find these so-called poems of real value to you.
I wrote them with that intent.

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Picture: U.S. Geological Survey