Poems are not architecture
they do not require blueprints
Poems are a structure nonetheless
like a teepee on the prairie
with the wind blowing through
part of nature part of the self
with all of its bones and sinews
buffalo hide over sticks
drawn tightly
before looking at the sky
for the weather.
Dance is not sport
there are no competitions
nor prizes
Dance is athletic and the body moves
but it moves for the gods
the muses
and the choreographer
guiding the movement
like a conductor guides an orchestra
each piece moving
in tandem.
Love is not coffee
Although it can be dark and bitter
it's not something that you have every day
it's not something to kick you into gear
or awaken the senses artificially
although when you close your eyes
it can have the same dreamlike
effect.
Books are not boots
although you can wear them
and go places
Grab the stiff leather and
shove a foot
and drudge up some weary trail
only to discover it is a mountaintop.
Pride is not a drug
although you can laugh
and boast with the best of them
you're just a speck of dust
on an eight ball
rolling on a pool table
somewhere in another universe
where all of your earthly gains
mean nothing
unless they change the angle
as you go
into
the pocket.
Laughter is not medicine
although it can make you burst
and cause your heart to sing
to soar just for an instant
and you forget all your troubles.
Method is not madness
although I write each day
I am no closer
to the poem I want to write
than when I started.
Put me in the straight jacket then
and let me draw crooked lines
with the pen
held
in my teeth.