The Poet's Task

 THE POET'S TASK 

by Rick Doble

 The poet's task 

 is to fill 

 the emptiness 

 of words 

 with the richness 

 of the world 

Drawing of Rimbaud by Verlaine  (commons.wikimedia.org)

 SAILING TO BYZANTIUM 

 Example of a poet filling his words with the richness of the world 

 W. B. Yeats 

That is no country for old men. The young

In one another’s arms, birds in the trees

— Those dying generations — at their song,

The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,

Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long

Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.

Caught in that sensual music all neglect

Monuments of unageing intellect.

Verlaine & Rimbaud (far left)

belonged to a group known as Les Poètes Maudits 

(The Cursed Poets or The Outsider Poets) 

which is also the title of  a work by Verlaine (commons.wikimedia.org)

 I'm now making myself as scummy as I can. Why? I want to be a poet, and I'm working at turning myself into a seer. You won't understand any of this, and I'm almost incapable of explaining it to you. The idea is to reach the unknown by the derangement of all the senses. It involves enormous suffering, but one must be strong and be a born poet. It's really not my fault. 

Arthur Rimbaud, 1871, age 16

The Past Is The Present -- The Present Is The Past

 The Past Is The Present 

 = 

 The Present Is The Past 

 by Rick Doble 

Ocean waves transport energy over vast distances...
There are waves of all sizes and shapes rolling into the beach at any given time. If they’re not stopped by anything, waves can travel across entire ocean basins and so the waves at your beach might be from a storm half a world away.
Oceans in Motion: Waves and Tides
http://ci.coastal.edu/~sgilman/770Oceansinmotion.htm

 The Past Is The Present = 
 The Present Is The Past 

    

  the past is  
  like ocean waves  

  forever breaking  

  on the shores  

  of the now  
  moment  
    

Fast Food Sound Bites

FAST FOOD SOUND BITES

(At a McDonald's restaurant during a storm)
(Photographs from commons.wikimedia.org)

The large loud man
who has a story for anyone who will listen
tells his daughter 
she is acting 
like a seal

Outside a storm 
pounds the parking lot
with large beaded drops

Then sudden sunlight hits
glossy grass
before rain returns

French fries beep in the kitchen
I wonder if my car window is open

The loud man
looks at his daughter
claps his hands
and barks like a seal

Around the restaurant 
ripples of laughter