True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
As those move easiest who have learned to dance.
‘Tis not enough no harshness gives offense,
The sound must seem an echo to the sense . . .
Alexander Pope (1709)
This may take awhile, settle in your seats,
But don’t get too comfortable, you’ll need
To focus—no drowsing off! Poetic
Bleats demand an ear attuned, a mind that
Heeds. OK, OK—see what I’ve done? Tricked
You to think you hear end-rhyme where there’s none.
This, of course, creates some other questions—
What’s the point of rhyme? What’s with iambics,
Not to mention anapests, dactyls, and
Trochees? Why, for pity’s sake, end a line
With “and”? Ah, rich poetic mysteries.
The last query is easy—each line of
This poem must have ten syllables! But why,
You might reasonably ask. It’s a rule
Stupid! Poetry’s a language game (like
Crossword puzzles), and a numbers game (like
Sudoku). Of course those rule-determined
Lines that end in “and,” “like,” “of,” are crummy
Lines indeed, despite their orthodoxy.
Well then, what makes a poem a poem? A quest-
ion that perplexed the history of wit—
But look, for a moment, at what I’ve done;
I broke “question” between the “t” and “i”—
Technically incorrect. But now we
Have a “quest,” a weightier load by far.
Are you beginning to get it? Poets
Dazzle you with language—make you hear such
Possibilities that you cannot keep
Yourself from jaw-dropping awe, or, at least
A puzzled bit of head scratching that leaves
You, once again, convinced that poetry
Is not your game—fine! I’ll see you later.
Now comes the new chimera—modern verse.
No more numbers, no more rhymes—evoking
Is the new ideal. Subtler rules take hold.
Sliding silk, warmed by your body’s scent,
Lavish petals bring me to my knees.
OK—what’s evoked? Is she nude or dressed?
And how does scent warm silk?
How are those petals lavish?
And what the devil am I doing on my knees?
(Don’t think gross!) See how evocation works?
Sheesh, you can do anything!
Shit! Explaining poetry is a hope-
less task—I haven’t touched on music yet,
That lyrical encompassing roulette—
How ever did you manage Alex Pope?
(10/15/07)