In Essence

Poetry does not bring me peace. Or if it does,
it is the peace of a baby sleeping, only to be woken by a nightmare.

Poetry does not bring me relaxation. Or if it does,
it is the relaxation of a perch eating a frog underneath a rolling country brook.

Poetry does not bring me reconciliation. Or if it does,
it is the tense and non-lasting settlement between two warring nations.

Poetry does not bring me freedom from misery. Or if it does, 
it is the liberty that comes when a monk realizes that freedom is their last desire to overcome. 

Poetry does not bring peace. Poetry is a perception that all is happening as it should. 
Not the way I want it to be but the way it must be.

George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such publications as the Hazmat ReviewMoria Poetry JournalChronogram JournalAmpersand Literary ReviewThe Angle at St. John Fisher College, and 3:16 Journal. George’s blogs, essays and letters have appeared in USA TodayThe Wall Street JournalThe AtlanticHavana TimesSouth China Morning PostThe Buffalo News, and more. 

See all his poems on Tea House here.

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