“Certain Poems Need To Be Released From Their Cages*

“Certain Poems Need To Be Released From Their Cages*

-Robert Bly

I took from my book of seeds and crumbs,
stopped what I was doing,
got still, and breathed
like I do when I hear a noise
outside my room at night.

I listened to my poem. It told me to stop expecting,
stop thinking
and just be there.

The poem peeked out at me again and said
I want to say to you
what the wind says to you
and what the warm breezes say.
Now, listen.

I stopped chasing the poem.
I let the poem catch me.
I let the poem hold me for a moment,
then it let me go.
.

"Certain Poems Need to Be Released from Their Cages", accepted by National Gallery of Writing Contribution, Oct., 2010 See: http://galleryofwriting.org/writing/2438796