Pro Vita

You could be simpler
About it, you know.
You don’t need to write
So much incident
To earn sympathy.

Or maybe you do.
That’s the main project—
To write in a way
That invites readers
To relate to you,

To think of you well,
And incident helps.
Words must elicit
A response mostly
Of admiration—

For the words, maybe,
But mostly for you,
Writer of your life,
Admirable you,
Sympathetic you.

There’s no confession
In your confessions.
There are incidents
Curated to form
Apologia.