But I, too, want to be a poet
and live a virtuous life
To erase from my days
confusion & poverty
fiction & a sharp tongue!

To sing again
with the tones of adolescence
demanding vengeance
against my enemies, with words
clear & austere

To end this tumultuous quest
for reasonable solutions
to situations mysterious & sore

To have the height to view
myself as I view others
with lenience and love

To be free of the need
to make a waste of money
when my passion,
first and last,
is for the ecstatic lash
of the poetic line
and no visible recompense.

— Fanny Howe

The conception for this painting is from a friend, fellow artist and aspirant to noble motives. I hope she likes this Fanny Howe poem (all except the lines about “vengeance against my enemies”).

But I Too, Want To Be A Poet, 9×12, oil on canvas, $350.00 USD