CLICK HERE TO HEAR AUTHOR READ
I hate that poets
think poetry
is for studying
or to impress
other poets.
I hate the awards
they give to each other
so they feel okay
about not selling their books.
I hate readers who've given up
on poetry
because they mistake
a good poem
for a test
of their intelligence.
I hate publishers
who publish poetry
because they get government
grants for it.
I hate writers
too scared
to call themselves
poets.
I hate that I need
to write this poem.
I hate this poem.
I hate this poem! (just joking!)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, it's a messed up situation that something that professes to be beautiful and (dare I say it?) meaningful can cause so many negative feelings, including but not limited to anger, frustration, insecurity, competitiveness, fear and emptiness. You cover a lot of negative territory in this poem, but at least parts of it remind me of the Billy Collins poem "Introduction to Poetry" which voices his frustrations that come from trying to teach poetry to his college students.
I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
Of course you have to shove Billy Collins in my face! What a beautiful poem. I hate him too! My guess is that his students read it and had no idea what he was talking about. Probably came to his class with rubber hoses in hand, like a a street gang. I like my direct approach better. Even kids can relate to hate. In fact these days it’s it’s pretty much the go-to emotion. And hate works as a nice gravy. It can cover students, teachers, governments and publishers in one cooking pot.
ReplyDeleteHa Ha! Keep up with hate stuff ... it'll get you far.
ReplyDelete