Don’t desert me <br />just because I stayed up last night <br />watching The Lost Weekend. <br /> <br />I know I’ve spent too much time <br />praising your naked body to strangers <br />and gossiping about lovers you betrayed. <br /> <br />I’ve stalked you in foreign cities <br />and followed your far-flung movements, <br />pretending I could describe you. <br /> <br />Forgive me for getting jacked on coffee <br />and obsessing over your features <br />year after jittery year. <br /> <br />I’m sorry for handing you a line <br />and typing you on a screen, <br />but don’t let me suffer in silence. <br /> <br />Does anyone still invoke the Muse, <br />string a wooden lyre for Apollo, <br />or try to saddle up Pegasus? <br /> <br />Winged horse, heavenly god or goddess, <br />indifferent entity, secret code, stored magic, <br />pleasance and half wonder, hell, <br /> <br />I have loved you my entire life <br />without even knowing what you are <br />or how—please help me—to find you.<br /><br />Edward Hirsch<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-poetry-2/
