By Karel ReusÂ
Hey Poet,
there are rules, you know!
Our world is built on logic,
chains of causes and effects,
invariant laws,
structures,
deductions and conclusions.
Hey Poet,
your rambling word-plays
and fantasies
have no place
in our geographies of certainty.
You’ll look in vain with GPS of mind
and Google-maps of truth
for the “X” that marks the spot
of your location.
Perhaps, at best,
we’ll find you in the naughty corner
of some abandoned dwelling,
and we’ll pretend
you are not there.
Hey Poet,
you walk us up the garden path,
pointing out weeds and flowers alike,
avoiding category mistakes,
where classification reigns
and perception is constrained.
You lead us to fissures
in crenelated walls,
and point us to sprouts of greenery
taking root amongst the hard things;
life denying the assumed right of artifice
to hold it back.
Hey Poet,
I will unmask your cunning tricks.
You hint and nudge.
You deal in mysteries, not facts.
You tease and cajole.
You image and imagine.
You turn logic on its head.
You start at the end,
and discover beginnings.
You feed spirit rather than intellect.
You break the silence.
You speak words
that are never heard.
You give voice to thoughts
that cannot be expressed.
Your encrypted wisdom is obscure,
and when the code is broken
we find a discourse
replete with paradox, enigma and myth.
Hey Poet,
your claims to fame
will be ignored,
unless “the hidden hand”
discerns a profit to be made.
You have your uses,
though they may be few and far between.
We would gladly capture you,
and put you to the task
of framing lofty thoughts,
expressions of love and anguish,
inspiring prayers,
rousing hymns,
and the occasional jingle.
We will gladly enlist you
in the army of the content-free,
and pay you handsomely, if briefly.
Hey Poet,
we need you.
We need your insistent view
that the empire of good sense
must be challenged by
the freedom-fighters of the heart;
that the vast and barren landscapes
of modern life must be enlivened
by spirit and passion.
You, my poet friend,
are the canary in our collective mineshaft.
You call out danger.
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