Apr 2015
For a poet
they are
necessary angels.
Poems do not
leap complete
from the head
like Zeus'
Children.
They are built
like cathedrals,
apprentice
and master,
practicing craft,
keen-eyed
over centuries.
Mine are the poets
I have read,
studied, dissected
and read again
and again
over 40 years.
Gary Snyder,
Richard Brautigan,
Leonard Cohen,
Wendell Berry,
Jim Harrison
and far too many more,
but just as important,
to name.
Eventually,
from their voices
came my voice.
Make your own list,
invite them over.
They will never tire
of teaching you.
If you are diligent
and listen closely,
you will learn
the craft
and sing in the voice
you belong to.
Hard work, learning,
practice and devotion:
all it takes to be a poet.
~mce
they are
necessary angels.
Poems do not
leap complete
from the head
like Zeus'
Children.
They are built
like cathedrals,
apprentice
and master,
practicing craft,
keen-eyed
over centuries.
Mine are the poets
I have read,
studied, dissected
and read again
and again
over 40 years.
Gary Snyder,
Richard Brautigan,
Leonard Cohen,
Wendell Berry,
Jim Harrison
and far too many more,
but just as important,
to name.
Eventually,
from their voices
came my voice.
Make your own list,
invite them over.
They will never tire
of teaching you.
If you are diligent
and listen closely,
you will learn
the craft
and sing in the voice
you belong to.
Hard work, learning,
practice and devotion:
all it takes to be a poet.
~mce
Inspiration is necessary, but not enough. You have to learn the craft. You won't like this, but lock those love poems away in a journal for now. Write about the odd and beautiful world instead. Your heartbreak when new is your own; later, at a distance, you can rewrite it and share. Just some thoughts here; not commandments. Email or message if I can help. ~ mce
