POEM: I Had Something to Say

I had something to say

From poetic moment to Zen

I had this sentence in mind ...

Literally, a sentence of alienation

I searched for a pencil; could only find

A couple of pens. I prefer pencils:

They make me an artist for a moment or two

But when words rush out in tumblingsful

Almost as song, to the tune of losses and faith

Loss of faith and the Faith of my Loss

A zen moment,followed by movement...

I am propelled forward. Forward, finally!

In an environment of second chances

Forward movement, a trickle away from stagnation;

Although not a flow, better than trickling tears

Now, I ask: Which came first?

The backward slide of indecency or loss of Faith?

Now, from trickle to a forward thrust

Yes, I had a word or two to liberate for poetry

I discovered the madness of diction, invention ...

They mean everything but seldom paid me anything

Yet, I have lived between words, histories, form:

Sonnets of potentiality

Haiku imagined in four words, less than 17 syllables:

Stars-- Moon -- Love distance

My namesake landed a job with his wrenching poems

As he wrenched, tore away his role as minister

When Faith had an earlier Fall

Dethroned, garlanded by Doubt

...and that is what I really wanted to say:

My doubts are for humanity -- to make me less alien--

I had searched for a pencil to say what I wanted to say

With this pen, then, I declare I will say it eventually.©Deo 08-24-2007