to squander inept without words
meters worth of rhymes with four feet
counted lines unaligned too neat
meanings too vain to be assured

too vain to be assured meanings
waltz to a double-time foxtrot
unaware their two left feet fought
semantic wars with tired schemings

with tired schemings semantic wars
roared thoughtless groaning through the night
weeping—words, we need words for light
to fill our poems’ verse with more

four lines groping through studied rhyme
a quatrain forced to dance with time