Emily, You Deserve Better Poem by Michael Pruchnicki

This morning I posted a poem
about one of America's great poets
and I didn't defend her magnificence
and ability the way I should have

It's bothered me all day
you know how you feel when
you turn tail, back down
and make excuses
in the face of what
you think is united
opposition but is really
just one misguided jamoke's
sophomoric ranting

I have never written one poem
half as effective as any one
of Emily Dickinson's least poems
no matter what her psychosexual
problems may have been

Whether or not she was a lesbian
or gay or 'uncool' is irrelevant
as far as I am concerned
she was one goddamn great poet
and that's all that matters!