Poem for a Sleepless Night

Dear John -

Thanks to you

I’ve come to understand

The impeccable logic

Of fear that vermin beget

In all of us and the myriad

Obstacles at our disposal

That suffice to cut us off

From life and love

If not for the study

Of Chinese

I too might have

Succumbed instead

Of stumbling upon

This bold thought

Bolder still in

The accomplishment

That a poet aspires

To attain mastery

Not just of words

But of experience itself