"A blog is to a writer what a canvas is to an artist." ~ Colleen Redman

The Cheap Therapy Poem

__________________

I want to write a poem

that doesn’t feel like homework

or look like a grocery list

________________

one I can float down the river

for my friend Mara’s birthday

and trust that it knows

its way to the ocean

_________________

I want to write a poem

that earns its own paycheck

and doesn’t need an insurance policy

to feel secure

__________________

a poem that can make a Vulcan feel emotion

make the Three Stooges smart

and a homeless man stop drinking

_________________

I want to write a poem

that leaves a message after the beep

isn’t afraid to wear pink

and can tell a bully where to go

___________________

a poem that gets good gas mileage

but doesn’t get cancer

one that sleeps like a baby at night

_____________________

~ Colleen Redman

13 Responses | Add your Own

  • 1 Kim (frogpondsrock):

    Hi Colleen, I have been meaning to come over and say hello for a couple of weeks now. I met your son Josh, he is staying In Tasmania with a friend of mine. He is a very nice young man. Cheers Kim

  • 2 colleen:

    Hi Kim,
    Thanks for touching in and for leaving your blog link so I can check out your blog and word from Tasmania. We are preparing for the 16 Hands Studio tour this weekend. Josh is a member and. even though he isn’t here, his stuff is on display at our house (his childhood home), along with his potter mate Joey Sheehan. We’re gearing up. Pictures coming soon.

  • 3 Darla:

    Absolutely wonderful… 🙂

  • 4 sherry:

    I love this poem!! I want to spread the news around that you are an excellent writer!! xo

  • 5 colleen:

    Thank you! Maybe I should post it on Facebook. I wrote it last night and finished it this morning. I consider it a dream poem from my psyche.

  • 6 Tabor:

    This is an exceptional poem. It really speak to my mind and my heart. I really like this poem. I really, really, like it structure and imagery and it mission. I want to write a poem like this poem.

  • 7 colleen:

    Thank you, Tabor! Feel free to pass it on. I’m using it like good medicine.

  • 8 OldOldLady Of The Hills:

    LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! I think you accomplished your “want” perfectly, my dear….lol!

  • 9 Mara:

    I love this! Especially the part about the floating. 🙂 I just have noticed of late that I am not sure I want to sleep like a baby–they wake up an awful lot. Though if you were writing a poem that slept like a baby it might also keep you up at night. Which seems remarkably appropriate, actually.

    I love you.

  • 10 Anne Armistead:

    I agree with Tabor…I want to write a poem like this one.

    Way wonderful Colleen!

  • 11 Pearl:

    my favorite poem I’ve seen by you. Stanza 3 — amen. and S4, tingles. S5, yep.

  • 12 Loose Leaf Notes » Blog Archive » 13: Having Our Cake and Eating it Too:

    […] of experience. At her birthday party we read poetry and played Apples to Apples. We were planning to float poems down the river in boats but it […]

  • 13 Loose Leaf Notes » Blog Archive » Poet Cakes:

    […] I want to write a poem that doesn’t feel like homework or look like a grocery list/one I can float down the river for my friend Mara’s birthday and trust to know its way to the ocean/  ~ From The Cheap Therapy Poem […]

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