A Poem Should Be . . .

 

—Public Domain Photo

 

 

 

ARS POETICA
—Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982)

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.

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Today (6/27), 3-4:30pm, Poets Club of Lincoln features Judy Rollings plus open mic at Zoom. The meeting ID will be 837 0247 9851; Passcode: 792265. Go to Zoom.us, click on "join a meeting" up at the top, and use the above ID and passcode to join.

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—Medusa

For more about Archibald MacLeish, go to www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/archibald-macleish/.