Poetic License: ‘The Poet Answers The Interviewer’s Question On Mission And Vision And What Poetry Really Is’
PHOTO PROVIDED
Joe Pacheco
“Is” comes from the Aryan root “as,” to breathe …
Is because it is close is the driving force …
— Charles Olson
The poet tries
to tell it
like it is
but is
is never
what is was
when the poet tells
it like it is
And so
the poet tries
again to tell it
like it is
but is is no longer
what he thought
it was
and was
is no longer
what he ever
thought it was
when is was was
and was was is
and all of it
was like it is —
and was.
so ask me why
does a poet try?
the answer now
easy to see
is:
is is not a poet try —
is is poetry.