A writer is a tiger stalking
Purposefully through tangled plot
A poet is a kitten mocking
Feral instincts long forgot

In prose the words are carpets laid out
For the comfort of the fan
In poetry the words are weighed out
To educe a lyric plan

A story is a tale of reckoning
As the faithful reader’s caught
A poem reflects a wistful beckoning
To a purity of thought

In either case the subjects differ
Each one to the author’s schemes
Except with poems you must decipher
Exactly what … the poet means