WHAT THE POET WANTED
TO SAY WITH THIS POEM
What did the poet really want to say?
That the poem is not a poem
but a forest That the sheet of paper is thunder
and that the pencil on the table
turns into a coal mine
every evening
What did the poet really want to say?
That the evening is not an evening
but a flood-wave that drowns houses
That the houses are nests
And that the woman becomes a bird
When she takes her clothes off
What did the poet really want to say?
That the bird is not a bird
but a flower cast into the sky
That the sky is a drop of water
and that the river is a beast
That doesn’t flow but crawl
What did the poet really want to say?
That the beast is not a beast
but a cloud that floats above the sea
That the sea is a sleeping horizon
and only an island or a glacier
can wake it up
What did the poet really want to say?
That the glacier is not a glacier
but a window gaping toward the universe
That the universe is a child
and the earth in its arms
is a roasted chestnut in winter
What did the poet really want to say?
That the chestnut is the earth
The earth a beast The beast a house
The house a coal mine The coal mine a pencil
The pencil a word The word a wise man
welcomed by meaning