Poetry as Remedy

the poet like an acrobat
                                 climbs on rime
                                          to a high wire of his own making
Lawrence Ferlighetti




I might compare him
                        to a freedom-fighter
                                                or terrorist
words strapped to his chest
                           in place of bombs
finger on the trigger of his pen
                                       ready to spill ink

Or to something sweeter
                                   and more simple
                                                  a queen bee
laying her poems like larvae
                                        nurtured on nectar
                                              in the heart of a hive

But I believe poets are the remedy
                          for the hidden plague
                                              of verbal degradation
panacea for the blighted art
                    when functional illiteracy
                                                   rules the world


Day 16 ~ COMPARE

Anmol is our host of the Tuesday Platform in The Imaginary Garden today, inviting us to honour the centenary of Lawrence Ferlinghetti.