How to Write a Long Poem #7 - Forage Economy

 

a poem about beginning the process of writing a long poem

forage 

for wise surprise 

sometimes trick yourself into a poem

mustn't think you're building a monument 

you're stacking up a pile of bricks

you're cutting stone 

you're gathering sticks 

it's much more forage than farming 

you go out to see what's about 

you bring in the items of interest, needful 

arrange them 

and you arrange them again 

make regular inspections 

tuck in, let out 

rest the eyes   

it becomes a kind of conversation 

it's all of you there 

when at your best 

you leave what you've made out in the weather

you see how well it will last 

taste the sweet flesh

chuck the shells 

stick at this a lifetime 

make a midden of your own 

and mean it

then, only then 

in its afterlife 

the poem finds you 

you're lapping at a tide of milk 

a headsup for the grapes