Word Breaks
I rise from the bed, make coffee,
drink the obligatory first cup, sending
me racing to the "salle de bain" to begin
a day of eliminating the negative,
accentuating the positive, as Bing Crosby
instructed in our youthful days.
I select from a stack of magazines,
one, waiting to be opened, read about
the history of chess and young grandmasters,
considering that at 80, grandmistress
of nothing, I should teach myself chess,
swim good enough to compete, sky dive
into the air over my island beneath a sexy
instructor, coupling with the clouds.
Instead I cut out paper dolls:
a poem by Donald Hall, hoping it will
teach me improved line breaks. His,
are impeccable. Who is this guy and why
do I love him? Then on the credits page,
"Former poet laureate". No wonder,
I say, no freaking wonder!
I once asked my workshop director
from a former life in Atlanta, "Just how
important are line breaks?" HUGE,
he replies. "Rats." I say, "never be a poet."
Still, I want to be a scary, frightening
poet like Robinson Jeffers. I go
where the pain is, try couplets, take out
all adjectives, see what's left, watch
participles; turn, counter-turn,
and stand.
The word at the end of any line is most
important. Break on nouns, verbs,
and the words that describe them:
"When the blackberries hang / swollen
in the woods," (Mary Oliver) Timing,
as in most things, is everything, and I
have just broken all the rules
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