I cherish all the songs that fill my head.
Without them life would be devoid of joy -
a diet of air and unleavened bread
with nothing to sweeten my wars on Troy.
They’re living things. They eat, they sleep, they scheme.
They intercept my plans, my wants and needs.
They sonify my inner ear and stream
a soundtrack for my varied moods and speeds.
I’ve curated this 60-year collection.
I can’t tell where I end and it begins.
It underlies my acts and introspection
and documents my triumphs and my sins.
I cannot gauge how much these poems are strewn
with all the lives I’ve lived through text and tune.