Cooking a Poem
You never know how long a poem will take.
The act of writing's not like baking cake.
It might resemble cooking tasty stew
with spicy words emerging from the blue,
a cup of images, a dash of rhyme—
the one essential thing to add is time.
Age improves a draft. Don't watch the clock!
Just think of pickles crisping in a crock.
You could try marinating overnight.
A week, a year, or more might be just right.
You open up an oven door too soon;
souffles collapse like craters on the moon.
A poem rarely pops into your head
like some kind neighbor's gift of fresh-baked bread.
Unlike a pie or cookies or a cake,
a poem takes as long as it will take.
—© JoAnn Early Macken 2020
Today's poem was inspired by David Harrison's Word of the Month challenge. (February's word is "age.")
Follow David's #AfterDarkBlogTour to find out about his new poetry collection, AFTER DARK, POEMS ABOUT NOCTURNAL ANIMALS. His 97th book, illustrated by Stephanie Laberis, it features creatures that stir about their business after the sun goes down and makes its debut on Tuesday, February 25.
Linda has today's Poetry Friday Roundup at Teacherdance. Enjoy!