learning in poetry

young street buskers
old professional wrestlers
performance artists
and master baristas
these are the people
I have learned from

burlesque dancers
car dispatchers
baseball hecklers
and film producers
these are the people
I have learned from

burn-out bushidos
constructing burritos
amblers in Clinton
and folks in Encino
these are the people
I have learned from

I have learned from the Rainbows
I have learned from the Crows
I have learned from cracked actors
and regular fact'ry-line Joes
these are the people
I have learned from

crazy-ass Samoans
who listen to Buck Owens
heathens with fevers
miraculous non-believers
joyous deceivers
Golden retrievers
these are the people
I have learned from

and I hope to keep on learning
for a while yet