in a poem, I want something to derive out of the poem, rather than something more important than the poem replacing the poem.
i mean that a poem is more than an aphorism. the cat in this image is electric, because you don’t know what it’s going to do. but, the composition of the image evokes possible and emotionally interesting moves the cat might make. if the cat were looking out into the courtyard it would be another image. that is, that a poem isn’t accidental… it’s not a subjective thing: you enter it and follow it. you can’t enter it and redecorate it and have it still be a poem. even if you’re making it into your own experience. it’s still something that’s directing your imagination.
poetryandpoet 