What Is A Poem? Poem by Liilia Talts Morrison

What is a poem but a whisper
a lark, a sprite, a butterfly
a silver sparkle on the ocean
a fleeting cloud just floating by

What is a poem but a footprint
soon washed away on sandy shore
a tiny tern too swift to capture
a faithless lover seen no more

What is a poem but a cipher
once scribbled on a torn off page
a trace of dark forbidden kisses
imprisoned in a gilded cage

What is a poem but a fragment
left on an attic's dusty floor
a backward glance that went unnoticed
when you walked off and closed the door.