Tennis without a Net1 scratch, scrawl

40 a few short stanzas,

I want you to reread six or seven,
this line, alliteratively writ.
the line two above
this one; But
5 until you know it; he rethinks,
it’s stuck in your mind. 45 reflects.
“This line” started this. This poem,
this topic,
Until you have reread this approach,
that line, has been done
10 “this line,” 50 and redone.
do not, The brook’s bubbling
I repeat: feels less inspiring.
do not, His words, quick writ,
read the rest.2 quite frankly
55 sound like shit.
15 You’ll be back. The poet,
motivation deposed,
The following’s important. begins a fit,
The sight that began this: “These clichéd waters fail
Soft sounds and 60 to bring up my soul.
serene scenes so harried am I,
20 swiftly set, I cannot even rhyme
strictly-structured and this line with ‘soul’!”
seriously scribed are
shown not said The poet, bereft,
in the succeeding 65 a victim of theft
25 stanza. by poets of past,
who left nothing
A bubbling brook for him to muse upon.
ahead. Too self-aware,
The poet, 70 too prone to parody
an Anglo-lark, even in attempts
30 rose early from bed to be seen as serious.
to be inspired What sort of poet is he?
by the pastoral,
the swans and the floral. “The miserly sort.”
His eye espies 75 Well, clearly.
35 nature in form “In need of some port.”3
sublime, Yes, dearly.
searing into his soul “What do you s’pose then,
a desire to scribble, in your infinite wisdom,
80 I shall write,
1
when all I write,
In reference to Robert Frost’s famous quote comes off as trite?”
regarding free-verse poetry, “It’s like playing
tennis without a net.”
2 3
Have you yet? I decidedly hope you are not A Portuguese wine, typically found in a sweet,
reading this footnote right now, if you have not. red variation.

1
 Downtrodden lad, 125 True, it’s more prosaic
lose the rhyme, than “poetic,” but it’s all
85 free your mind, in how you say it.
let your emotions run “Oh, *well done*.”
like the flow of the Rhine.4
“But you just-“ Turn your poems upside down,
I’m aware. 130 give them some meta bits,
90 “In more ways than one.” self-reflective elements.
Those lines of mine, From the get-go, confuse
though, came au naturel. the reader as to who’s
“Just give me one hint, the writer and where
a clue, some advice, 135 the piece starts and ends.
95 how to poeticize in this, In fact,
this present-day life.” the good ones never end,
Sometimes, not always, but exist eternal
even rarely, as a well-written puzzle.
free verse is best. 140 “Make them cognizant
100 “Infinite wisdom? that they’re reading
Infinite jest!”5 a poem
For such a poet bent on traditional form and by showing them such.6
rhyme, that was quite a fresh reference. Is that what you mean?”
David Foster Wallace would’ve been proud 145 It’s an option, among a few.
105 of Show them you know
that name that you’re writing it too.
drop.
Anyway, you never know, “I feel only pompous people
lest you give it a test. give praise
150 to such poetry.
110 “Oh, give me a rest. I want to be taken seriously.”
Random indentations that hardly You sound as pretentious
give effect? Overused as all those Romantics.
enjambment leaves Traditional structures
poetry a mess! 155 artificially make music.
115 Let me guess: Assembling sweet sounds
you suggest no rhyme, without form
‘natural writing,’ is natural.
somehow is poetic. Morningdoves don’t sing sonnets,
Dancing words, 160 owls don’t hoot in meter.
120 musical rhythm, They speak beauty
without meter to guide them? without form,
Free verse is poetry’s curse, making it all the sweeter.
and if it rhymes,
it must be true.” “Now you’re the lofty one,
165 spinning a tale over-spun.
I’ve read Leaves of Grass and,
4
my friend, ‘t was no fun.
A prominent river that flows through
Northwestern Europe, notably Germany.
5
The title of David Foster Wallace’s magnum opus.
At over 1,000 pages, it is a keystone in the canon
6
of recent postmodernism. This is a poem.

2
 Artificial may they be, never let go of.
poems traditionally, Above all,
170 but Walt’s work would have been 215 the kind I felt good
As affecting written as an essay, about writing.
not in the form that you say.
All right, “Forgo a life of
granted, teachers’ preaching ‘bout
175 poetry has ways of causing deeper reflections, Shakespeare, Swift, the like?”
but prose can do the job just as well 220 Quit living in shadows.
if done to perfection…” Just write,
What is it that you want? hit ‘Enter’
What poetry, sire, every now and then,
180 doth thee wish to compose?7 and edit, edit, edit.
“I don’t know,” 225 “Such a disgusting form!
The poet pauses, I still truly do dread it.”
“All things feel false.” Swift hated novels,
wrote Gulliver’s Travels.
Now that’s profound. Just write.
185 “Terrific. The pit of melancholy 230 Free.
is where depth is found.” Your.
It makes sense, being a pit. Verse.
“…”8 “What’s first?”
See that? That
190 was postmodern! Start from the beginning.
That felt true.
“You do propose I be a post-poet then? 235 “Fine.
My silence sealed that? I’ll start with this line.”9
That’s my salvation?”
195 Try this:
free verse first,
structure it second and
finish with a flourish,
but save that first form,
200 When it was free verse;
it’s wild, organic embodiment.
When your mind struck flint
and roused that fire: passion.
Your topics and ambitions too
205 will determine what form you
choose and which to eschew.
Above all, quit being self-conscious.
“Out of curiosity,
what’s your favorite
210 form of poetry?”
The kind that I can
read, reread, love,

7
Delivered with the utmost sarcasm, along with a
deep desire to help.
8 9
Piercing stare implied. I didn’t mention that it ended it too. Sorry.

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