In Working On A Poem, I Love

I Was Pirouette And Flourish, I Was Filigree And Flame. How Could I Count My Blessings When I Didn't Know Their Names?

In Fact, Sometimes Traveling The World Is A Way Of Not Writing A Poem, But It's The Quality Of Experience. It's Being Able To Experience Something And When You Begin To Write About It Be Able To Apply The Tools That You Need For Writing.

I've Always Felt That The Poems I've Written Which Have Historical Context Are Hopefully Not Just Simply Plucking Something Out Of History And Saying Great, Let's Write About That. In Every Case What Has Happened Is That I've Become Fascinated Or Haunted By Something And Couldn't Shake It.

I Never Think Of My Audience When I Write A Poem. I Try To Write Out Of Whatever Is Haunting Me; In Order For A Poem To Feel Authentic, I Have To Feel I'm Treading On Very Dangerous Ground, Which Can Mean That The Resulting Revelations May Prove Hurtful To Other People. The Time For Thinking About That Kind Of Guilt Or Any Collective Sense Of Responsibility, However, Occurs Much Later In The Creative Process, After The Poem Is Finished.

I Think If You Put Something In A File That Says "war Poems" Or "love Poems" That You Already Restrict The Way In Which The Poem Might Move.