They rattle in my mind 

stir on my tongue 

roil in my gut

words I compose

as Letters to the Editor

 

It’s my citizen’s right

of free speech

to express my thoughts

to agree or disagree

with the expressions or deeds of others

 

But composure

propriety

respect

are required in these pithy epistles

understandably so

 

Yet daily I read and hear

leaders, journalists, celebs of all fields

spew lies, fling words of vulgarity

infantile, puerile, fatuous names

straight out of a sandbox                                    

 

I rant and rave    seethe at them,

corruption, corporate greed, and crime

censorship banning the reality

of toxic metals  chemicals  pesticides

in our air, food, and medical care

 

And so it’s futile for me to write

letters to the editor only to have them

marked dead and shredded

but how consoled and calmed I am

writing a poem like this