Imagine if they

Implored us to write more poems!

Actually paid poets triple figure salaries!

I would live on a windy knoll,

In a straw bale house,

With two-foot thick walls,

A massive center chimney, and

Horses, sheep, goats, cows and chickens

Grazing pastures,

Overlooking salt marshes stretching out to the sea,

Off-the-grid windmills, passive and active

Solar. Give lots of money away.

Save a lot of elephants, horses, baby seals and manatees.

Have enough money to get the medical care I need.

©  Susan Lynn Gesmer, Imagine If They Actually Paid Poets! 2007