The Poet as Physician

I was sitting at my dining room table, thinking glumly about how utterly worthless poets are from a utilitarian point of view, and I thought of all of the knowledge I possess, which yields very few utils. Compare this with my dad, who is a physician, a psychiatrist - medicine is something that is obviously of great value to society, and his years of knowledge yield a great quantity of utils. I hope you know that I'm saying this tongue in cheek, I firmly believe the arts have great value, but of an utterly different sort than practical things like medicine or carpentry. Still, a phrase came to mind - the old, cliche shout, "Is there a doctor in the house?" Viola!

Is there a poet in the house?

Please, this man is near death

from lack of inner expression.

Cannot anyone give words or phrase

to the feelings of this common man?

His face is blue from choking

on hackneyed utterances and trite clichés,

who will give their breath to him

and save him from his fate?

Here I come to save the day!

With my wide array of tricks and tools

to pour life into mundane existence!

Rhyme will make your world seem

ordered, though it lacks a thread;

metaphor indicates you are connected

to something other than yourself;

Alliteration just sounds smart,

it’s no shame to say;

whereas personification means

you’ll never feel alone.

No, no need to thank me,

it’s all in a day’s (subsidized) work;

you all need me

to make your lives worth living,

so please, go buy my book.