Poetry
is not a trick. It is wrapped about
the source of meaning and truth. It
exists to convince us these things do
exist. It is a picture of the moment, the
exact tally of what is said and what is
thought, dreamt and felt; it poses side
by side with the real, the tangible, the
visible, to convince anyone it happens;
it happens all the time.
It is the poet
who takes this raw stuff and consumes it,
makes it part of body, transforming
self. Heart becomes crucible, hands
hammers, fingers molten pots of lead,
lines of type effortlessly trench paper
until it bleeds ink.
The poet’s voice
sings, “It was always like this, long before
you or me.” Perhaps I found this song
scrolling on a mantelpiece. It happens.
People can’t believe it, but it happens—
it happens all the time.

<not sure why WordPress insists on removing the spaces before “It is the poet” & “The poet’s voice”. Both phrases should be aligned to begin following the end of the prior line. Anyone who knows how to fix that in WordPress — or use tabs! — please let me know—thx, wm>

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