[I Want To Be] Your Poet For Life

 

Chrome Dome Mike Kimbro's poetry meme, which originated as a selfie photo, in which I was showing off my black University of Louisville Cardinals cap at my home in Grapevine, Texas.

A poem by Chrome Dome Mike Kimbro

 

Consider reading along to my Spoken Verse Performance!

 

 

INTRO

 

"I want to be your lender for life!"

 

Quoth the mortgage guy on TV.

 

That BS line I soon found rife,

 

And it served to inspire me...

 

 

VERSE 1

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

I write it out, then I flow it.

 

Then change phrases to fit my voice.

 

 

If you like poems by Sinfield, Brooke and Joyce.

 

Yet prefer a Saab to a Rolls Royce.

 

I'm here to assure that you have a choice.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 2

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

But if you prefer "efficient".

 

I'm not your literary Mister Right.

 

 

No, I'm not the Sultan of Sparsity.

 

'Kimbro' is an antonym of brevity.

 

But if you condone poetic levity,

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 3

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

To the status quo I say:  "Not yet."

 

My world's too alive to ignore.

 

 

Like the Star Trek crew, I like to explore.

 

"To go where no man has gone before."

 

No doubt, it's a place with fewer metaphors.

 

Still, I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 4

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

I'll continue to skid row it,

 

Til I grasp the concept:  'monetize'.

 

 

To be quoted is the ultimate prize.

 

Written verse is easier to memorize.

 

If your favorite scribes you wouldn't recognize,

 

Then I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 5

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

If R-Rated content makes you upset,

 

Retro cursing has it's appeal.

 

 

It's '40's profanity, I find ideal.

 

Using "blow it out your ass" to keep it real.

 

So, assuming you aren't expecting 'genteel',

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 6

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

Having worked so hard on content,

 

Misunderstanding is what I fear.

 

 

You won't hear me shifting into high gear.

 

Flappin' my gums like an auctioneer.

 

If you'd prefer a poem be spoken clear,

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 7

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

You don’t need me to show it,

 

This world’s got trouble and strife.

 

 

If you’d rather that a poet extraordinaire,

 

Think beyond the basic: “Life is so unfair.”

 

And flow without distracting gasps for air,

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 8

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

In no time flat you’ll know it,

 

That I’m a man who’s lived a life.

 

 

Two kids I've raised, from that biz I've retired.

 

My skill set isn't easily acquired.

 

But if you don't mind that twice I've been fired,

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

BRIDGE

 

Guess I'll never be your poet.

 

Your tweet said my work is sub prime.

 

And that you’d rather van Gogh it.

 

Than hear another of my lyrical rhymes.

 

 

I'm sorry if a chip's not on my shoulder,

 

The world looks different, when you're older.

 

But if you despise Scully and Mulder,

 

Chances are I'm not your poet.

 

 

And if you crave pseudo scholarly teaching.

 

Conveyed in rapid fire rants, and preaching.

 

Then please look elsewhere, I’m beseeching,

 

I don’t wanna be your poet.

 

I don’t wanna be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 9

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

I plant the seed, and grow it

 

'Til the spoken verse sounds just right.

 

 

Poets who write their daily epiphanies,

 

Must number their production like symphonies.

 

But if those artists have your sympathies,

 

Then I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 10

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

Might as well let you know it,

 

That I’m a man who’s lost a wife.

 

 

We shared twenty-three years without spite.

 

I don't record works that I won't recite.

 

So, for now, if you're cool with keeping it light,

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 11

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

No thought as to:  “Will I blow it?”

 

Clearly, I don’t give a shite.

 

 

Current poetic norms I trample.

 

No student looks to me for example.

 

But if you feel my catalog is ample,

 

Then I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 12

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

But with repeated disappointment.

 

A reader can get distraught.

 

 

If the majority of the books you bought

 

Were sorely lacking in original thought.

 

Please allow me to ask for one more shot.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 13

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

If rhyming is the crime I commit,

 

Then sentence me twenty to life.

 

 

For my love of rhyme, I'm unapologetic

 

Even if it renders my art synthetic.

 

But if, to such concerns, you're apathetic,

 

Then I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 14

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

As I try to avoid pretension,

 

I do ask for your full attention.

 

 

A slower pace improves comprehension.

 

While reading along increases retention.

 

Look, I want you to retain what I mention,

 

Cause I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 15

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

I'm a 'never was', yeah, I know it.

 

And I dream of being called a 'has been'.

 

 

Stop by the library, now and then.

 

Take a second to peruse section 810.

 

If you'd like to find my poems therein,

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 16

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

Regarding setup:  I always forgo it.

 

It does away with all the suspense.

 

 

How can one feel a poet must condense,

 

Yet request a setup to help it make sense?

 

If, after the title, you feel a poem should commence.

 

Then I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 17

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

When I've overeaten I know it.

 

Cause my brain just doesn't work right.

 

 

I limit my vices to keep my head clear.

 

When writing I only drink light beer.

 

If such self-denial would earn a cheer,

 

Then I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 18

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

Writing song lyrics is glorious.

 

Even those which are notorious.

 

 

Structuring is damn laborious.

 

But nailing it makes me feel victorious.

 

If you think the effort's meritorious,

 

Then I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 19

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

The Urban Dictionary is my favorite

 

Source, cause I'm prone to misbehave.

 

 

But I work hard to be artistically brave,

 

Who else took on Putin, when he wouldn't behave?

 

All the while, to a thesaurus I'm enslaved.

 

Still, I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 20

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

My muse gave no choice but: "Do It."

 

Now friends wonder why I don't write.

 

 

So, if your wordsmith must have the fire.

 

Yet can still look good in thrift store attire.

 

Then take this Texan for your versifier.

 

Yeah, I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

VERSE 21

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

To grasp today's school of thought,

 

Blogs reveal how poetry's taught.

 

 

Some teach that poems are just snapshots.

 

I guess that's fine, if that's all you've got.

 

But should you favor odes which have a plot,

 

You know I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

The End.

 

 

Copyright © Michael Kimbro 2015.  All rights reserved.

 

 

Postscript:  At the bottom of a couple of my earlier works, "The Colocation Center" and "The Las Vegas Strip", I shared a few verses which didn't make the final cut.  I call them 'poetic remnants', and here's a couple from this poem's progression.

 

After realizing that every commercial web site now has a royalty program to encourage repeat business, I tried hard to include that concept in my poem, as follows:

 

VERSE - Poetic Rewards Program

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

And so you'll never outgrow it.

 

My web site is now major league.

 

 

Designed to stave off mental fatigue,

 

My Rewards Program will no doubt intrigue.         [Note:  I don't actually have a Rewards Program.]

 

While it's just cause for the others to grieve,

 

Do they want to be your poet for life?

 

 

While researching that verse, every site also had a satisfaction guarantee, so why couldn't old Chrome Dome Mike have one as well, inspiring the following poetic remnant:

 

 

VERSE - Poetic Satisfaction Guarantee

 

I want to be your poet.

 

I want to be your poet for life.

 

I don't take the time to submit.

 

Since I lack a college degree.

 

 

So read all you like, without fee.

 

But if it's not enough that it's free.

 

Did I mention the satisfaction guarantee?    [Note:  Alas, I don't offer a satisfaction guarantee either.]

 

Yeah, I want to be your poet for life.

 

 

Anyway, thanks for your time.