A Poem is a Place

Please wait briefly while audio loads.

A POEM IS A PLACE

A poem is a new friend
that was an old lover you'd forgotten.
It is written to be companionable:
even if it jerks you upside down!
It's a spurt and a spout,
a prink and a dazzle—
moistness in your pants.
Or, barking dark in God's light!
a ribbon of silky smoke
unwrinkling in the sky;
a spacious place to pass into:
like lithe wind, or an opening soul...
It's a room without walls
with a ceiling of spattered stars.
It's a slow excretion of color in your mind
as the universe within you sings.
It's your own primal voice speaking
from a simple flame of empty silence—
the naked Christ.
*
Enter a poem's heart with your heart.
When you come to its wordy doors,
throw yourself open!