Thus…Spoke a Poet…

(Written in 1996)

What is poetry…but thoughts mixed with feelings…
painting pictures with words…subjectively…
objectifying written symbols in portrayal…
breathing life into little characters
on an initially blank stage…

What is poetry…if not liquidly seeing…
it may be mechanical, sing-song, or obscene…
it may be revealing, incomprehensible…
it may only be a self-portrayal…
all things to a poet…on a page…

And what is poetry…if not these fleeting…
little fragments of reality that writhe and careen…
from deep and hidden depths they rise to surface…
some…filtering from God…some…banal…
thus…spoke a poet…who came of age…