REPLY TO THE QUESTION: "HOW CAN YOU BECOME A POET?"



take the leaf of a tree
trace its exact shape
the outside edges
and inner lines

memorize the way it is fastened to the twig
(and how the twig arches from the branch)
how it springs forth in April
how it is panoplied in July

by late August
crumple it in your hand
so that you smell its end-of-summer sadness

chew its woody stem

listen to its autumn rattle

watch it as it atomizes in the November air

then in winter
when there is no leaf left


invent one


— Eve Merriam
"Poetry emerges out of the mystery and secrecy of being,'' and
''It is the occult and passionate grammar of a life.''
~ Stanley Kunitz
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The Silence/Warning
Permanently
Occasional Alternative
Your Poem, Man...
How to Be a Poet
Oatmeal
Dear Reader
Kidnap Poem
Ars Poetica
Several Things
The Poet
Word
Poet's Corner
How to Eat a Poem
Why I am a Poet
The New Poetry Handbook
A Loaf of Poetry
For Poets
Poet, Trying to Surprise God
Why I am Not a Painter
Apple that Astonished
Eating Poetry
A New Poet
How Can You Become Poet
Selecting a Reader
The Joy of Writing
Notes on the Art of Poetry
Why do Poets Write?
Glass
I Stop Writing the Poem
An Obsessive Combination
Poet's Corner
LAUNDRY DAY
LINKS
SHOE BOX
SITE MAP
SCRAPBOOK
POETRY
WELCOME!
VIEWS
DIURNAL
QUOTES
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Tasks
Teaching the Ape to Write
People Like Us
Man Writes Poem
poetry readings
The Silence
You Go to School to Learn
Writing
Dear Editor
The Trouble with Poetry
I Ask You
Excerpt
Rereading Frost
Home Fire
Want Ads
The Trouble with Poetry - 2
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Sonnet
Poetics
Thesaurus
The Secret
Of Modern Poetry
live, on stage!
A Considerable Speck
The Best Cigarette
Digging