Everybody could write poetry

Everybody could write poetry
but few do so
most people don't trust themselves to pour this bittersweet gold of honey from their lips
afraid the world would hear nothing but the stickiness they feel between their teeth when trying
afraid it could clog their nine to five pens
afraid of being called dreamers.
When did dreaming become undesirable?
When did we forget the ancient art of piecing thoughts together into a flaming mosaic, the art of pouring this honey into patterns on the hard-won bread to make the tired and weary hungry again for life and laughter? When did we become scared of emotion deeper than the cavity of our dry mouths?
We don't win our bread by touching the soil anymore, we don't remember the stings accompanying the harvest of the last honey of the year, we don't know how to wait for the right seasons anymore. We are lost, strangers to our world, merely taking whatever is provided by endless acres of supermarkets, grocery stores, vending machines. Consuming in haste, eating on the way to work to earn another year's worth of bread, and yet not taking the time to taste the piece we hold in our hand.
Everybody could write poetry
but few take the time to taste life
afraid to waste time
afraid of finding out what we've given up.
Everybody could write poetry
and I won't leave it to the so-called professionals, self-proclaimed experts
to find out what life tastes like
to define what is art and beauty.
I will write poetry again.