When a particular word saturates a poet's work, is this iconographic shorthand?

A word stands for. For example “crow” or “cypress.” To what means? To which end? The personal expressed in image/metaphor. Is the reader brought close or held at arm’s length?



With food, this may be construed as the cook’s “signature dish.” Signature style? Consistency and matter of taste.

What inspires the question in a poem?

From the get go, assume every poem imbeds a question.
From which limb, which organ of the poet did the question spring?
A question (explicit or implicit) is sufficient. The answer is the umbrella you misplaced.


Which foods feed question-making? A split dish with a friend. Two glasses. Wine.

When is the poem finished?

When the poet says, “Enough.” She forgot to say, “For now.”

Sublime, the fragment with a look/feel of the unfinished, it sounds exquisitely complete.



When is a meal incomplete?

When food is not tasted. Is not savored.

Is craft best expressed through the two-headed poet?

The skilled poet meticulously guides the reader to think/to feel what the poet intends.

At another time the same poet pushes the reader off a precipice.


Crafting fall & flight, ground comes to no conclusion.



Are there two-headed foods? Creme brulee, comes to mind, with its crust and custard.

How do you select the next book of poetry to read?

How do you decide what’s for dinner?

taste
proximity
invitation

Does a great line of poetry turn your body into a tuning fork?

By the way, what is a great line of poetry? Is this (like so much) a matter of personal taste?




Mmmmm. Which food consistently makes me hum? Steamed mussels & garlic w/a glass of red. Particular company. Yes.

How much is too much explication?

Explication is a tried/true way to dissect craft and measure underpinnings & conveyance of a poem.

I prefer savoring whole cloth, slow disrobing of inexplicable silence.




Which foods slowly disrobe taste? Try squash soup – satiny, savory.