gentle art

oh
there is passion in the writer
passion in each word placed on a page
in the spoken word rendition
the exercise of craft
passion in the gentle art
of poetry

venom there is
venom in the swiftly flowing pen-stroke
in execution
like the lancing of a boil
and surrounded are we not
by boils
and lumpen clots
is exorcism not a feature
of the gentle art
of poetry

whispers
sharp words passed in whispers
are we not the sharp-word masters
we who coax the ink to flow
in shapes to raze whole mountains
and when whispered
stunt our rivals
in this gentle art
of poetry

small
this pond is small and shallow
the falling careless phrase
displaces ode and sonnet
and free range
the stage belongs
to the wettest splash
and sometimes it’s best
to pen at the farther reaches
not disturbing the gentle art
of poetry

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© Frank Prem, 2001