Does Poetry Matter?

Christopher Bursk

American poetry now belongs to a subculture; no longer
  part of the mainstream of artistic and intellectual life, it
   has become the specialized occupation of a relatively
   small and isolated group.
                                Dana Gioia

Iam alone.
I lie next to stone

a man writes in the notebook he takes everywhere
in jail, a boy really
this shy, earnest twenty-two year old
who never seems comfortable
sitting-as if he's not yet used to the large, gangly
  body
that's grown around him.

You've got to believe me,
I never before lifted a hand to anyone. Never.

Now he goes nowhere without paper and pen,
rhymes everything. Everything
is a sonnet. He likes to hear the couplet
click shut like a door
only he has the keys for. He listens for the final
  word,
its prompt and perfect justice.

I am alone.
I lie down next to stone.