Poetry Becomes Us Poem by RIC BASTASA

where does poetry come from?
from my heart? no, not at all times

it comes from you, i learn it from you
when we talk,

when you too, tell me about the lonely life in the village
the slow sailing boat that you were taking,
the silence of the lake and the occasional ripples from the mouth of a fish

poetry is a social thing
it rises from a fountain of humanity
from a river where we take our baths
from the rock where we dry ourselves under the sun

you are never naked, but i would have preferred it
that way

honesty is nice, but you have to sometimes pay the price
i guess, you are afraid

people of the past were not kind
and some are still having a hard time understanding what kindness is

what humanity is, what life is all about
what poetry is driving at like a hammer to a nail

poetry is a reaction, and you are the stimulus,
on that push and pull, on that tagging and haggling
we are poetry.