Fast Genuflection To Rilke Poem by Bill Grace

If my teachers are correct
Shakespeare cared most about his poetry
We know this from his efforts to preserve it
The plays were a cast away effort to earn a buck.
The poet’s gift is frequently lost
The form too intense
The writer’s background hostage to the reader
So that the dot and dash of words do not communicate
Do not tell, do not allow us to feel
But poets,
With a fast genuflection
To Rilke’s insight,
Have no choice but to write
What it is they write.