Ars Poetica

The art of modern day poetry; a meditation on poetry and its power.

Photo by Radu Florin on Unsplash

Poetry is like really good jazz
you hear when calling the power company.
It reminds you that you’re not the only one
whose life is on hold.
It’s a child’s understanding of grace.
It picks up voices that have fallen
or have forgotten how to fly.
It exists in the purgatory of your mouth
saying,
“Practice
Practice
Practice.”

Poets chase upset people into rooms.
They’ve lost themselves
in their lover’s hair
coughing up hair-balls of confrontation.
They run up the curbs of your desires.
They aren’t afraid of the forbidden things
in the basement of your mind
the things you’ve forgotten you’ve buried,
They unearth them.
Poet’s heads are weak
and their lips are heavy.