As the flight of birds
It should not soar above the clouds
And disappear in the beyond
A poem should be earthly
Rooted in the soil
Of our human experience
It should sing of laughter and tears
Love and loss
Of joy and sorrow
Of beauty and ugliness
A poem should be like a mirror reflecting
The world around us
In all its diversity and complexity
It should invite us to look
And to see
And to understand
A poem should not be wordless
But it should be silent
Like the sound of falling snow
Or the whisper of the wind through the trees
A poem should be still
And calm
And full of peace
When we read a poem
We should enter a world
Of wonder and enchantment
We should forget our troubles
And our cares
And our anxieties
We should simply be
and let the poem wash over us
Like a wave over sand
Or a cloud over a meadow
A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds
But it should not be silent
It should speak to us
In a voice both soft and strong
And it should tell us
Things we never knew
About ourselves
About the world
And about life.