"The beginning of a novel is a time of
awful when you're dealing with a lot
of dead pieces and you have to wait and wait for
some sort of animation" ~Iris Murdoch

Poet,
The blank page
is terror.
The blank
screen is too.
How do I dare
to impose
my prejudices upon it?
~
How do I dare
to assume that
what I have to say matters to anyone--even me?
~

It's that mysterious
leap that distinguishes
the dreamer from the doer.
I myself always trick myself into starting.
"No one will ever read this," I say.
"Moreover, no one will understand it."
Sometimes I make as many
as a dozen starts.
Later I realize they
were all different ways of
sneaking up on the same material.

~

I was stalking my poem
from many different angles
--but I don't see that until
I am well and truly launched.


"The last thing we decide
about a poem is what to put first"
This has always been my experience.
If only I could relax and remember
that this game of hide
and seek with my poem
is the only way I know of refinding
the playfulness that making up requires.

(pause)


Candlelight
flickering
beautifully
this morning, dancing
on the walls
like thoughts
dancing
beautifully
inside
a poet's mind.

Yes, sweet poet, we must
let go. We must
take leave, pass on.

Words
are our way
of polishing
the rough stone surface
of existence.

Words
are our way
of pounding nails
into walls,
and mounting
our pictures
in the hallways.

~

Regardless
of our efforts regardless
of our thoughts, and our prayers, and our ideas existence
does
exactly
as it pleases.

and we are here
to please it.

Act only in ways
that will please existence.

Act only
in ways
that will move existence forward.



like tumblers
falls
behind the wall
of a safe,
our words
turn
the keys
to the puzzle the keys
that swing open
the doors the keys
that will keep
the image
safe,
and release it, too, into the winds of eternity where it belongs /
where we
eventually
will travel.

~

We
are the ones
who weren't intended
to be here

We
are the ones
who were intended
to be gone



We
are the ones
you see starving
at dawn.

We
are the ones
who are lonely, and alone.

We
are the ones
who drink coffee
at coffee shops
at the edge of the universe
while peering
at the abyss



Dance
with us
only
if you dare.

Close
your eyes
and help us seduce
the night

We are safe
in the city

We are safe
in ourselves

We are safe
in the workshop
of our talent

~

Aspire
to greatness
by doing
what must
be done
and leaving the rest
for the universe
to take care of.

~

I better close.

I will write again soon.

SAS

_____________________