What is a verse or a word
From a poet’s hand
If not to make the world better?
Whether one pens a rhyme,
Makes a metaphor,
Scribbles a simile,
Assembles alliteration
Or awakens an aphorism
It’s not enough
If it fails to inspire
And move a heart.
So truly, what is a verse?
It is a quickening
A desire to ascend to something
Higher and beyond
A rocket to reel
Among the stars
Capture power and light
Express the mundane
In magnificent color
In luminous blood
And lift a laden heart.
I tapped my fingers lightly
On an electric page
From somewhere else
Or deep within me
It came all of a sudden
From all the time
And began the stroke
Each character an impulse
Composing to life
A message I only knew
And spoke to my heart.
Listen to your own poetry
So you may yet contribute
One eloquent phrase
Or pray, perhaps
A meaningful line
Real and recitable verse
Easily repeatable
Not by mouth
But by hands and feet
Paving prose
Others can follow.
Copyright © 2021 Charles Edward York
No part of this poem may be used or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way or form or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the author.*