New Poetry by Paul Tanner

woe, yay!

this poem is about depression
so you better publish it.

this poem is hashtags 
and well-meaning ones at that:
it’s #depression
and #mentalhealth 
and you don’t want to miss out, do you?

never mind it’s not very good:
it can’t NOT be good
because it’s about mental health.

never mind you don’t like it:
you can’t NOT like it,
otherwise you’re prejudiced 
against mental health.  

never mind you don’t like me:
you can’t NOT like me 
because I write about mental health.

look,
if you don’t publish this poem
I’ll have to write another poem 
about your intolerance 
and everyone will back me up
because they don’t want to be seen 
as intolerant either

so publish me
or else.

publish me 
for both our sakes:

the awards  
and rave reviews 
and royalties 
will really help

with my depression. 


- © Paul Tanner 2020


Paul has been hounding independent magazines for many years. His latest collection, “Shop Talk: Poems for Shop Workers”, is published by Penniless Press.