formulaic

formulaic

& so another poet
took the word
& arranged it
upon the page

exactly
where
i intended
to place it

up on the page

the title
i wanted to use

forgiveness

so i forgive him
& move on

& attempt to write about letting go
of bad habits of the best laid plans
of waiting all week for a phonecall
of being satisfied by little more
of want & of need & of have & received
of those who don’t desire change
of those who don’t grow
of expectations that will remain unmet
of doubting who & what i know

all attempts i eventually delete
all attempts considered
to be
too formulaic

so my thematic equation
remains unsolved
the variables never change
the patterns stay the same

i am still x
he is still 0
there is still no answer for y

i wanted to use
forgiveness

so i could forgive him
& move on

but the title was already taken

it has already been said
& continues to remain
unheard
even now
as it is read.