Sheryl Nelsen Hutton, WordPress’s “Self Help Whisperer,” was the long-suffering Veep of the poet’s nonprofit Foundation for Poetic Justice, and very first online friend. Her humor and humility of writing style includes numerous “digressions,” frequently every bit as valuable as the texts from which they, uh, digress…

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Recorded Reading (0:48): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mixpsvnrbrruhcfwtey9q/A-Clumsy-Tribute.mp3?rlkey=2qeyeryhkhna05suhhxnpvq50&dl=0

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A Clumsy Tribute

Your digressions are my food and drink
They make me smile, they make me laugh, they make me think
Though of ludicrousness upon the brink
They don’t, as you’re concerned that they might, stink

I am in awe your digressions before
Don’t apologize for them any more
Neither superfluousness nor a bore
Your readers aren’t upset, no, they’re not sore

Don’t listen to your inner self-defeater
Nor yet to your crabby own-head beater —
This reassurance would be so much sweeter
Had I not badly compromised the meter!

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Until removal of the stalker/targeter/vandal/arsonist following her allows her to approach any landlord ~ even for a private parking space ~ and to begin once again to create professional connections and to rebuild her life, this poet presently lives homeless and at a fraction of her nation’s poverty level ~ still working seven days a week to contribute to her society, however.

Arts patrons may visit http://www.UgiftABLE.com , using code #72D-31S, or choose to send a personal check to the poet’s ABLE account. It takes about two weeks for the poet to be notified of your patronage.

Thank you for supporting quality in the fine arts.