"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

When the Poem I Was Writing (2012)


When the Poem I Was Writing


 
When the poem I was writing caught fire,
I wondered which line to save.
I narrowed my smoke-stung eyes
And pored over the piece,
But even as I deliberated,
I was choked by the smell
Of burning alliteration.
No time to choose –
Soon, the whole page would come down.
I crawled across the bottom margin,
Which they say is the safest place to be
Within a burning poem,
And clutched wildly
For any clause
Not yet hot enough
To sear my tongue when uttered.

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