betteroffbad | song of submission guidelines

you say you want innovative work by fresh voices
but about how fresh I am time has not given me many choices
I was born about fifty years ago
in a seedy small city that would soon be wet with snow
and the business of living has left me scant time
for spritzing my voice with spearmint and squeezings of lime
I dropped out of college for reasons that were personal
and my connection to the youth culture of my time got worse and worsenal
even as a wide-eyed freshman at Michigan U
I was never quite sure what the present demanded that I do
and staleness crept in like daydrying fingers
not only to me but to my fellow-singers
who scribbled scrap lyrics on post-its at work
and left them in lockers an unwanted quirk
to write these poems nobody gave me a stipend
what freshness I have must be freshness unripened
and still to be found. for the moment, I'm seedy
a poem I can spot you, but please don't be greedy
all voices aren't fresh but all voices are real
I'll sing what I can, and that's all - that's the deal