A Few Things I Learned From Edna

To borrow a conceit

From the good lady

Edna St. Vincent Millay --

There are a few important skills

A poet must acquire before

He or she presumes to speak

On behalf of humanity 

East and West will likely 

Start to pinch at your heart
Unless you first learn how  

To pump with your ventricles extended

Wide open in anticipation
Of the oncoming beat
For as long as you can

And if your soul has

A propensity for flatness  

You must learn to navigate

Sightlessly just like a bat

Because the sky is probably

Going to end up caving in

On you sooner or later