is what you call a poem
when you sit down to write
and the words flutter
every which-way
despite your
pleas to
land
is when you have just wrestled
metaphor to within
inches of its life,
nailing it down
tying it
to a
chair*
is for words wriggling too fast
when you try to capture
them, but they keep on
squirming away,
writhing out
of your
hands
so you just shrug your shoulders
and you dust yourself off
and call it a poem
and set it free
and away
you can
go
*a reference to BIlly Collins’s poem, Introduction to Poetry
Tags: learning, national poetry writing month, poetry, teaching, writing
April 2, 2021 at 6:58 am |
So creative, so much motion, and so much fun — throw in a Billy Collins allusion, and you’ve got more than a winner!
April 3, 2021 at 11:14 pm |
Ah, Billy Collins, he mocks and honors poetry in the same breadth. I attempted his Paradelle form once (and only once).
Describing what makes a poem a poem is akin to defining the word “is” without using the word “is” 😀 Seeing the shape of this had me counting syllables and words to see if this were a new I might wan to try. Sometimes it really feels as though Muse inspires and we just write she tells us.
April 4, 2021 at 3:04 pm |
Yes! And it’s this wrestling match which makes poetry so painfully wonderful. As for you, you continually inspire me with the way you seek out challenges in poetic form. I’m always going back to your blog page to try out something new!