Uncertainties

These book-bound objects
Taught as examples of what
Verse should never be
Taught to young adults
In English Lit one-o-one
Of what to avoid
I am terrified
All this is mere doggerel
Fit for derision
I live in fear that
My scribblings are insipid
Art without merit
Guilt lives within me
I am subject to passions
I do not control
Guilt devours me
What I write is unworthy
To be called writing
Every line I write
Carries grave consequences
I do not intend
Why do I question
Every motive for my work?
Is it not enough?
This blind obsession
To shape everything I see
Is extreme hubris
Five seven and five
Form of forced economy
Precision of words
Lines wrote late at night
Hold spectres that undermine
Daylight’s confidence
Words and words and words
So many thoughts to convey
Inadequate tools
Pray hard for guidance
Ask forgiveness for the sin
Of writing these words