Ars Poetica
To have
even a
lotto chance
of getting
somewhere
within yourself
you don’t quite know
but feel
To cling
to the periphery
through the constant
gyroscopic
re-drawing of its
provinces
To make
what Makers make
you must set aside
certainty
Leave it
a lumpy backpack
by the ticket window
at the station
Let the gentleman
in pleated khakis
pressed for time
claim it
The certainty
not the poem.
Credit
Copyright © 2016 by Leslie McGrath. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on August 24, 2016, by the Academy of American Poets.
About this Poem
“I wrote ‘Ars Poetica’ with my students in mind, nudging them away from pursuing a poem as a goal, encouraging them to be more comfortable with uncertainty.”
—Leslie McGrath
Date Published
08/24/2016