"My Poems" (An Autobiographical List of Works) by: Anonymous Jones

My first words were
Red roses
And violets?
Well, They’re violet
But I was just a babe
And, thus...
Thought them blue

I went to church
And entered into
My beach motif
I wrote one called
“Footprints”
And another about starfish
Thrown to the sea
By a boy
Like me

If you’ve ever
received
an F-W-D
cheesy e-mail
That rhymed…
that was me
(Still honing my craft
In my early teens)

Anything
”Inspirational”
You may have seen
On teachers’ walls
Or on ceilings of spots
Where you had your teeth cleaned
--Me.

In high school
Teachers read
My name
At the top of pages
Penned by poet’s
Made famous
Years before my time

I tried to explain that
I don't find it a
Crime
When I
Plagiarize
On behalf of
The uneducated
Or those too
Lazy to ask the question
Who?

I’ve been too
Shy to claim
One set of works until now…

Those God quote billboards
Should really take
My name
In vain

Why Didn’t I
Copyright
My poems?

I’ve been writing
For years and not seen
A single royalty check

Who’s missing out
While whoever else
Makes millions
Without fretting
Infringement…?

--Me.

(art by kerns)