defining poetry by describing those that peruse the art or others related to or understanding poetry


We read poems in fistfuls. Culling out the weak, the strange
& make love to poets that speak
our language. Those guttural voices,
philosophical. The poets

who have placed the right emphasis on the word "fuck"
that is used profusely
when writing verse but it creates sensation

& what more can a poet ask for,
in a time when all words have already been spoken?

We can toss their names around; in poems, poetry readings, when passing strangers on the street
because we have lain with their words
rubbed them between our thighs & proliferated
from the result of their work.
We have fornicated with every loose vowel & strict stemmed consonant.
We have rolled in the refuse of their blunt ends.

Poets steal. Poets lie. Poets fuck strangers on street corners
to sell a couple lines to small print presses
& pretend our words
shall be tossed in an unkempt bed

& be made love to.


Melinda Blount started writing poetry as a way to avoid finishing her novel. Alas, while the novel sits in the corner unpublished, her poetry has appeared in various online and print journals. Some of the more recent publications include the October issue of Thick with Conviction, Flutter Poetry Journal and, upcoming in March, Della Donna; a Webzine for Women. When she's not writing, Melinda is trying to avoid turning thirty.