Becoming a Poet

How can I become a poet? People ask. I hope this poem gives you the answer you want, my friends. Yet, whether it does help you or not, I would love to hear your comments. Peace and love.

Becoming a Poet

A poet is a philosopher

A lover of mirages, an architect of thoughts

Mirages and thoughts are verses of a poem

You're a poet if you build a road

And you walk on it

A road that goes through people's hearts

Tears and joy

And if you, on your walking

Through those hearts, tears, and joy

Yours included

You extract memories from them all

Observe and mull over what you see

Landscapes, people, situations, sorrows, and love

Then you write, you write a poem

But you must give your lines a direction

For memories face a crossroads, sometimes

A poem is one moment in life or an eternity

But you must give this moment, this eternity, a direction

A direction with a horizon in it

With a sunset on it, a sunrise on it

A starred night in it, a bleeding heart in it

There must be a melody in your poem, a harmony

And so, you read what you've written

Correct, rewrite, read, and reread it

Pause. Repeat

Listen to the melody

Let your heart dance to the music in your poem

Correct, rewrite, read, and reread it

Listen to your feelings

Pause. Repeat until you listen to the call of pain

Like the rain listens to the call of the dry soil, the rain

Then you'll feel satisfied

Because you're already a poet

You're the one who loves those verses, your verses

The harmony in them, the message in them

You've written a poem, and now, others will read it

It's now free like a bird, your poem

It's theirs now. Your poem is yours no more

Cut the chain that attaches it to your heart

Let it fly. Let it soar. Let it soar while you rest

It will seek another heart. It will find another nest.