To Be A Poet

Painting by Jackson Pollock

To Be A Poet

“Wine is bottled poetry”--

Robert Lewis Stevenson

To be a poet

is to be a cipher, a

witness, a judge, an

artist, a lover, or a

malcontent--the one who sees.

There are as many varied themes for poetry

as there are hobbies, interests, politics, 

tragedies and celebrations; a plethora of

possibilities.

“If you have some heavy lifting to do, bring in

the poets.”

Since I was a teenager, as soon as I was introduced

to the free verse of Walt Whitman & the scatological

energy of Ginsberg, poetry became my favorite form

of communication.

First leap from the nest

tests new wings, answers the call

of soul, of nature.

Poets in foxholes have shared the horrors of war

much more clearly than novelists or reporters. Poets

amidst revolutions write the anthems,, the mantras, 

the slogans and the manifestos. Poets in love, or
lust, can find the words to woo, to seduce, and to

touch potential partners & future readers.

Personally, I adore our community of poetics, our

sweet family, spread out across the globe, enjoying

the fellowship, the sharing, and the challenge of 

trying out new and classic forms.

Pigeons and crows share

the great maple next door, and they

have weaved armistice.

Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub--Haibun