I did speak to my congressman about it. I'm not exactly sure what he said
(it was a bad connection)
but it sounded something like
"it being a lovely day,
go into deep woods,
seek out the gorgeous scarlet tanager."
Not bad advice
considering that I called to complain
about the contamination of the river
by the paintworks upstream.
And my senator's spiel
was something similar,
only it involved the woman I love,
flowers, chocolates, an expensive meal,
and a long night of hot sex.
That's what comes of voting for poets, I guess.
Your feelings glow
but, then again, so does the water.

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John Grey is Australian-born poet who's lived in the United States for the past 30 years.