Ode to Winged Words

Oh Odysseus, it was not
yours that did me in
not yet
but some others I underscored
and mouthed
Madeleine
Walt
Erica and Tom
Leonard Cohen
Joni Mitchell
Thank you
for urging
my ballpoint pen
sometimes afraid to fly
to move shameless
across the page
over and over
until it began
to make
sense