Poetic Agnosticism
(in a "Non-Standard" 14-line Sonnet style)
ABABAB CDCDCD EE

Freedom” means the absence of restraint.
License” means to take advantage of it.
So, whether criticism and complaint
or praise by those who maintain that they love it,
Poetic License either is or ain’t,
when viewed from down below or up above it.
Practitioners of film and poems require
some distance from the written word’s demands.
Sure, what words mean does matter (to the Squire
who fancies that whole legions he commands).
The moving picture and the sound conspire
like Poetry, to stimulate the glands.
Such questions as the image-monger begs.
Like: “Name that actress who uncrossed her legs?”

The Willing Suspension of Disbelief” means
you know in advance but would rather
pretend that you don’t, so that U. S. Marines
can over your consciousness slather
an image of them killing Alien Queens
and other such Hollywood blather.
But still – since Reality sucks – for two hours
or more – if you’re lucky – enjoy
pretentions where we get what’s theirs and what’s ours
like those who chose me to employ.
This dish rag the inside of Life’s Barrel scours,
knowing not whom my poems annoy.
The words that I choose have a spelling and sound.
If they “work” then I’ve landed on good solid ground.

Michael Murry, "The Misfortune Teller," Copyright © 2026