Becoming a poet

~ And Other Poems

            Claire Sosienski Smith

I am a worm
and I am practising
how to be a poet

I go to my friends
and I ask them if they
think my poetry is any good

they say, we don’t
know if your poetry
is any good
we haven’t seen it

I say, that is not the point
you are meant to say yes

I am working hard
I think about myself
I think about the sky

and I think about the water
like a really large puddle,
the biggest puddle you’ve ever seen

Claire Sosienski Smith is a poet based in South East London. They are part of Resonance Poetry Collective, which puts on free open mic nights and workshops in and around Peckham. Their work has most recently been published by 14 poems and discount guillotine.