If Poetry Disappeared...

The world would not stop turning

For loss of verse

But the heart would

Stop burning

and racing

or chasing

the flirt of

elusive word

and the world would not notice

the absence of it

for the most part

but oh,

the light in the eye,

the path to the heart

the half-breath ocean stirred

the beauty of thought

or anguish-born jot

would never bring a smile

or a tear

and the poet would mourn

the day he was born

if verse would disappear…

© Janet Martin