An Older Poet's Advice Poem by Fred Rik Kesner

'An Older Poet's Advice'


Self‑inquiry begins as a shift in emphasis,
a quiet redirection of attention
that solitude makes possible.
Inner necessity gathers in the background,
steady, unannounced, shaping the next move.

Patience arranges the work in a workable order,
letting each part settle before the next begins.
Criticism filters through the process,
kept only where it clarifies intent.
Love & distance create a spacing that holds.

Sadness as transformation alters the scale of things,
changing how the present is measured.
Childhood memory moves through the day
as a set of quiet indicators, while
Art & nature continue their steady exchange.

Everything leans toward becoming.






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