Tuesday Poem: Under the Influence

For Bill 


A poem is flawed or

it has no purchase on the world 
for his own reasons
God will turn it away.

*

A poem is polished

but must appear effortless

as if you’ve rubbed it with

your elbow in passing.

*

A poem hesitates

line by line

for a poem knows nothing

not even who is speaking.

*

A poem knows

so little it stutters

small asterisks
spits out stars.

*

A poem can begin its life

with nothing

but a patter of sounds or

a cadence of voices.

*

A poem can begin its life

fully formed

with an end in mind that has

a man call his dog called Bone.

*

A poem must believe it can

go over the page

even if it stumbles

in the attempt.

*

A poem has a way                                                                   

of leaning on words

so their hearts beat

louder than usual.

*

A poem strings

the heart beats together

and is a small throat

to let out the sighs.

*

A poem tiptoes

into people’s lives

and tiptoes out again

it will always wear disguise.

Mary McCallum

I have just got back my old hard drive and found a wealth of poems on it. This is one of them. I wrote it after former NZ Poet Laureate and Director of the International Institute of Modern Letters Bill Manhire talked to our MA class about his poetry in 2005. 

Bill was my poetry tutor back in 1981 and was around and about when I studied fiction at the IIML in 2005. 

czech menhir

Some poets are touchstones - that place you go back to reorient yourself. For so many of us who've gone through the IIML (and haven't) Bill is a menhir*. Contrary to some reports, he doesn't dole out advice or tell poets how to write, he just offers up possibilities and then starts immediately to question them. Like a poem, Bill 'stutters small asterisks/spits out stars'. All the rest of us can hope is that we one day do the same. 

*from whence comes Manhire 

FOR MORE TUESDAY POEMS -- CLICK ON THE QUILL IN THE SIDEBAR. Jen Compton is the guest poet at the TP hub this week with an Australian poet.

Congratulations to Wellington poet Diana Bridge who is the winner of the 2010 Lauris Edmond Award for Poetry worth $NZ1000.