Why do you write poetry? – Grant Balfour

I asked a bunch of poets the above question. I’ll post their answers until I run out or get distracted.

Grant Balfour says:

I write poems because it reminds me of writing songs
and I write songs because I got really tired of what was on the radio
when I was in high school
and I wanted there to be
more things in the world
that were meant for people like me
and not so much the things
that sold real estate, cigarettes and television shows
on the endless ClearChannel loop
loop
loop.

So it was more a matter of not finding enough in the stacks
of used record stores
of the older kids’ private collections
in the playlists of college radio stations driving through town.

This stuff had to be somewhere. Someone had to make it.

I could picture it, almost clearly.

I still can’t quite make things like the pictures in my head,
but every so often I get close enough
to keep trying.

More answers to come. Stay tuned or submit your own to adamford {at} labyrinth {D-#-T} com [d-*-T] au.