A poem should be
palpable and
mute
As a globed fruit,
Dumb
As old medallions to the thumb,
Silent as the sleeve-worn stone
Of casement ledges where the moss has grown--
A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds.
- - - -
A poem should be
motionless in time
As the moon climbs,
Leaving, as the moon releases
Twig by twig the
night-entangled trees,
Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves.
Memory by memory the mind--
A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs.
- - - -
A poem should be equal to:
Not true.
For all
the history of grief
An empty doorway and a maple leaf.
For love
The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea--
A poem should not mean
But be.
- Archibald MacLeish