what makes for a good poem

what makes for a good poem
i asked in the eighth grade
hoping to receive the great wall
of wisdom from my teacher

named smiley, he was my
eighth grade teacher,
a lover of racecars, and myth-

ology. i had so much trouble with
mythology---those gods and goddesses,
remember staying up half of the night-
trying to distinguish my apollo

from my circe, my athena from my zeus;
i was more interested in boys
ballet and the monkees to care

about all this greek hoopla
this diving so deeply into blue history
i always knew that now

was the only truth, the only one
i could remember and to pay attention
to the color and the texture of my sweater

you could wear the same color--skirt and shirt
if the shades were furthest away
on the color wheel

the wheel of fortuna spun me a failure
in the tragic Odyssey, his journal
bored me to tears, to sending notes to my neighbors

i asked meekly if i could write a poem
instead of a book report, as that would
be the best way...to get an "A"

smiley listened intently and said,
but of course, kathryn, how could i refuse you;
i know it, darn it- this was the beginning of subtle
male domination..guised in flattery(she's so pretty),
any sharp consciousness about this

would fly out the window
as i peered out to glimpse
at spring's awakening, my body becoming
more woman, and the thrill of being considered
special, a poet, who was learning to know it


Kathryn Lamberg
March 23, 2010