Pretense

I brought the poem back for you

like robin hood,
giving to the needy
what was stolen

words taken from you
without your consent

because the poem does not care
what you are wearing,
where you work,
or the big words you roll

the poem does not care
if you are educated
on the altar of academia
or on the asphalt of common sense

the poem does not know
how disconnected the words
have become
from whatever reality
spans your days and your nights

no matter how far
from the poem
you think you are
I am telling you
it is with you, always