You know how people who are
really serious – that’s, not those
who pretend to be serious, or
those who are paid to be serious –
pretend to be not so serious?

And you know how people who are
really lonely – that’s not those
who want sympathy, oh no, or
those who want to enjoy being lonely –
pretend to be not so lonely?

So she never quite believed,
for obvious reasons,
just how much she was loved
by all her readers:

perhaps and I only say perhaps
she might have feared to lose
that painful treasure
that we wanted to love away and
which made us love her
so much and even more.

Michael Shepherd

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-a-much-loved-poet/