to the bitten

you’ve got some nerve, accusing me
of biting your words
and putting them in a poem
(and thus stealing from your
intended poem, the one
you didn’t get around to writing
before I wrote mine),
when you know full well
that all’s fair in war
and poetry. writers
are magpies, prone to stealing
whatever shiny turn
of phrase catches
their eye. you’ve bitten me
plenty, and I did not complain,
but merely wrote a different poem
around the same concept,
minting new words to replace the ones
you stole. anyway I
went back and checked
and you didn’t even use the word
umbilical. sorry I read your mind?
not sorry. or was the whole thing
just an excuse
for you to start a fight?

if you’re so bitter
about being bitten, better be
quicker on the draw next time.