1. Something New

I think all day about stolen art.

No idea is new. There is something comforting

About that fact, how every idea I've ever had

Someone has had before me,

And how someone’s great grandchild will have

The same idea to write a poem about stolen art.

I remember a day, in high school

My teacher said that every idea you've ever put into ink,

Onto paper, put out into the world,

Is yours; the copyright is your own will

To produce ideas and share them with the world

And no one can take that from you.

But we are not originals. The beauty of art

Is stealing the same idea

Just frequently enough that everyone knows—

Everyone knows the story, knows the way it goes:

The prince saves the princess.

That New York skyline is not new

But it may be the only New York skyline

Someone will ever see.

And that is beautiful.