ARS POETICA

A poem should be palpable and mute
As a globed fruit, 

Dumb
As old medallions to the thumb, 

Silent as the sleeve-worn stone
Of casement ledges where the moss has grown- 

A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds. 

A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs, 

Leaving, as the moon releases
Twig by twig the night-entangled trees, 

Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,
Memory by memory the mind- 

A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs. 

A poem should be equal to:
Not true. 

For all the history of grief
An empty doorway and a maple leaf. 

For love
The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea- 

A poem should not mean
But be.