Ars Poetica: Real Poetry
by Chloe Berwick
Your poetry is like modern art
in the back corner of a museum,
a slab of blue with a black dot.
Everyone points and says,
“ I could have done that.”
Real poetry, like a Mozart concerto,
requires stamina and patience to understand
the multiple movements, and only the musically inclined
know you shouldn’t clap in between. We say,
“ I definitely couldn’t have done that.”
Even if they are “talented,”
the poet does not decide
whether or not their poetry is real.
That is the audience’s decision.
If anyone could have written it,
it will remain in the back corner
of a museum no one will ever visit.
If, however, the audience believes it is
one of a kind, never to be replicated,
it will be featured on the world’s stage
backed by a supporting orchestra.
Yet, when the music fades,
the lights dim, the crowds leave,
one member will stay behind to
make music by herself.
Her trumpet reverberates on empty walls,
a special performance only for the seats and
the person walking by.