Zeitgeist

“Alter Zeitgeist” by Susett Heise

 

is the poet a man of his times
channeling culture
stroking his page with a populist pen
conventional wisdom affirmed

if so then I cannot in conscience
consider myself of the class
call me something other than poet
I brook no convention

a poem should surpass the mundane
if it has any art it should contravene
culture should shake it or break it
or take it to thoughts wildly new

it should fly on surprises of language
not mire in idioms
pull truth through metaphors
rich with provocative notions

the best poem is never self-evident
rather it leads to discovery
readers will find their own meanings
unaware they’ve become its coauthors

should a poet achieve such success
that his work becomes
part of the zeitgeist
it’s time that his readers move on

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“A poet’s work is to name the unnamable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep.” – Salman Rushdie

 

 

From my book Ephemera