July 05, 2023 – A

There are things we know by experience
like what applesauce tastes like,
and things we know by memorization
like how to spell Minneapolis 
and how to pronounce Natchitoches
and what 9x6 is
and why/how Jesus is the Savior of Sinners.

There are things we know by experimentation
like the speed of light
and the circumference of the earth,
and things we know through realization,
like what's what
and what needs to be done about it,
and whether we are a mountain or a sea person,
a pets or a no pets person.

The people who allow someone else
to do their thinking for them
and know only what they are told
are the saddest kind of people.
And the most dangerous--
to themselves and to others.

Which leads me to this:
I have been reading a lot of poetry lately.

Collected works reside in "the public domain"
and are free or very inexpensive,
and I have experimented with the possibilities
and realized that anthologies are better
sources of good (In my view) poetry
than collected works are.

There is a lot of bad (In my view) poetry
in collected works.

There is a lot of bad poetry generally,
whether it has been collected or not.

Knowing what is good or bad
is like knowing whether you are
a mountain or sea person,
a pet person or a no pets person.

We cannot allow someone else
to tell us who we are,
or, even worse, who we are supposed to be.
Even if they are our father.
Or our mother.

Or, even worse, the preacher.

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