what can I write

what can I write

to make my wife

think that I’ve written

a good poem?

anything,

I can write anything

to meet that criterion.

the first or second

christmas of our relationship

I gave her a paperback copy

of pablo neruda’s 100 love sonnets

that I’d paid a bookbinder acquaintance

to turn into a colorful hardcover

with a dedication from me to her

letterpressed on the outside

because I knew she liked that poet.

since then I haven’t seen her

read anyone’s poems

except my own.

and to her they’re all good

as long as the act of writing them

makes me happy.