Introduction: “Anatomy of a Poet”, was written over the course of nearly fifty years. There is no one main theme, but a compilation of autobiography, memoir, and poetic observations of places, people, and their lives —or how I imagined them to be. This is a poem from the book.
The Role of a Poet
To say what others cannot
is truly a mark of greatness.
But have all the noble poems
been written by classical masters
and the gifted poets of today?
Are there meaningful works
still left to pen,
not merely big words
from swollen egos
spilling their contents
at the whim of a moment,
nor with simplistic meanderings
of joy, or grief or love?
To answer the question,
I say write on, dear poets.
Allow not your words
to decay unwritten
in the brilliant minds of today
to lie barren and unread
only to wither, crack, and parch
like clay in the desert.
I believe there are jewels
left to be written,
but if we must write,
it should be for the future,
for the common man
who will gain most from
words he cannot write.
We have an obligation
to write in a way
he can glean what he can
from writings of poetic merit,
not stumble through
obscure words which are,
to him, as bird droppings
on a splintered windowsill,
left to die in obscurity
gathering nothing but dust.
If we must write,
let us write for those
who are unable,
so the future
might find our words
alive and fertile,
their tilled soil
begun as thoughts and feelings
first seeded in keen minds,
then sown to black and white,
rich and green and lush,
to live on in future hearts and minds
even as we crumble, ashes to ashes,
and blow away, dust to dust.
Let us continue to write
to say what they hunger to hear,
but what they are unable to say
-- not just for now, but for forever.
Published Poet/Writer/Author of 5 books.
Quora Top Writer 2018
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