The Poem Is Not In The Paraphrase Poem by Shalom Freedman

THE POEM IS NOT IN THE PARAPHRASE

The poem is not in the paraphrase
But without the paraphrase
The poem lacks meaning-

Perhaps it is that there are many paraphrases
And one alone is not enough for poetry
Many paraphrases and yet none completely the poem
Nor all completely the poem-

Perhaps the poem is qualities other than paraphrase also
Like the story it tells within itself
The unity at the end
The inner music
The sound no one can hear with one singing alone-

The poem is perhaps only partly in the paraphrase-

And the lessons in contradiction and paradox
In ambiguity and metaphor
In meaning suggested and hidden
Are also not all the poem either.