I learned from John Berryman
by way of W.S. Merwin that as a poet
I should paper my walls with rejection letters.
I thought this a good idea when
I lived in a small apartment, but
all too soon the walls appeared
to be growing ever smaller
and I was papering over paper,
like the latest in a too long
line of tenants who hated the wallpaper
hung by his predecessor and replace it.
Still the advice was good then
for it kept me focused and
insured that when I found any
success it never slipped into vanity.
But what do I say to a young poet
seeking what I have learned
from the masters who preceded me,
for try thought I might, I have
not found a way to get the pixels
of a mailnote to stick the wall,
save the virtual wall of my hard drive
which I never go visit anymore.