Poem #10,242

Poem #10,242

Richard Jones

I pretended I was a librarian
and listed my flaws alphabetically.

I pretended I was a physician
and prescribed a healthy diet.

I pretended I was a thief
and stole my prize possession.

I pretended I was a vineyard
and pruned my dead branches.

I pretended I was an old house
and replaced the rotting roof.

I pretended I was the universe
and expanded into infinite space.

I pretended I was an angel
and looked down with awe

on the fullness of what is,
the infinitesimal speck that I am.

---

Richard Jones
Poet & Author

Richard Jones is the author of more than a dozen poetry collections, including The Blessing: New & Selected Poems (2000, Copper Canyon). He is the founding and current editor at Poetry East, and teaches at DePaul University in Chicago.

Photography by Arturas Kokorevas