[Roger Slater]

MY POETIC CREDO

If I could write the poems that made the young girls cry,
the first thing I would want to know is "Why?"

If someone stole some candy from a young girl, we
would call them dirty scoundrels . . . justifiably.

We wouldn't say, "Good work! You made a young girl cry!"
Let other people write that kind of evil poem, not I!

For if my poems were powerful enough to bring forth tears,
I'd write them for marauders, criminals and buccaneers!