Poetry Contests
If you never send an entry,
there isn’t a way you can win.
In the twenty-first century
writing for money is a sin.
There was a time when poets wrote
in order to express themselves.
Their audience was of little note
and could have been fairies or elves.
Now it’s become the internet
or else an academic clique.
We don’t make any money yet;
it’s not publication we seek.
More poets than ever before
are writing, and they’re writing more.

Walt Abbott–5-14-2009