Today’s Poetic Asides Prompt is to write a poem titled “Complete (____).” I’m going to take a little bit of liberty.
The Compleat Poet
Bait your hook with a juicy image,
the wriggling worm of a story,
something you’ve pulled
from the muddy garden plot
of an ancient dream,
or from underneath the rock
of a hidden memory.
Your elements are tabula rasa and type.
Sounds and silences.
Language and lore.
Walk along the stream-bank
every morning at dawn,
so you can learn how the mist
rises above the waters
just before the fish start leaping.
Learn their habits,
their secret hiding places,
their favorite words and phrases.
Bring them the most succulent morsels.
Tease your line across the surface,
dipping down with quick
and tantalizing strokes.
Cultivate patience.
Carry your treasures home in a pail,
or scrawled in a notebook or napkin.
Learn to cook them fresh.
