To The Young Man of Letters

Don't wait around for readers, critics and the Nobel Prize in order to
consider yourself a genius, an immortal.
Consider yourself a genius, an immortal, right away.
Just think: if he waited, Henry Miller waited until he no longer had
a single hair on his head.
Just think: if he waited, Albert Cahuet waited for nothing.
Just think: if he's waiting, Jehan Ethiey Blez, who has nothing left
of his hair but the roots, hasn't received any sign.
Go ahead! While there's still time,
make the most of the life of
A genius and an immortal.
When we're dead or almost dead,
there's no time to savor the life of
A genius and an immortal.

Rejean Ducharmein, The Daughter of Christopher Columbus, a novel in verse.