The Arc of Poets or the Poets' Ark

The poets desperate to be heard are the neediest

The poets desperate for understanding are the damned,
good or bad, according to the case they make

The poets aware of their limits
are condemned to hard labor
and left to their own devices

The poets whose lives
plod on
without risk,
metaphorical or bloody
well enough
know
they will fall short

And the poets out on the edge
and receding as the universe expands
expect little from us, though we ought to keep trying.