OK you’ve written 2000 crap poems you say.
Now pack up this arithmetical stuff:
there’s an algebra to poetry:
equations full of unknowns:
for a start, the 2001th poem that you write
will contain 2000 times the…
well it’s a complicated equation:
it starts with the familiar
x for the expression which has improved
a thousandfold since you began;
y stands for the hundreds of times more wise
you’ve since become, by just writing poetry;
zzz is the way, that half-asleep,
an unforgettable word or line can slip into your head;
z too, for zeal and zest, that Muses love
and fly a little closer while you write..
then, it wouldn’t be a real equation without
‘squares’: for all that’s squared within your mind as poetry takes shape;
and brackets: for that intrusive, brilliant phrase
that slips between the wagons of your train of thought,
sometimes so surprising that you’re not too sure
it’s true; but trust it; tomorrow, know it’s right;
and oh so much more to this equation
of knowns equalling unknowns, spelling out a poem;
mass, energy, and the speed of light
writing themselves into some new formula
which only humility may harness;
a light to light the world with words.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
me thinks that's not only for Jim if I may say so..... I hated algebra at school (or it gave rise to the feeling) but this new light is dazzling.....