the reason for poetry?

the reason for poetry?

i do not wish to use my boots to trample death
nor my words to glorify
a young woman at the poetry reading tonight
believes the man who said
the reason for poetry is death
i’d like to take her to a nearby canyon
where waxy yellow and fuchsia flowers
spring from the cacti
see if she can find a poem there
or to the maternity ward to watch a mother
breastfeed her baby for the first time
see if that mother’s eyes
may hold a thousand poems
perhaps tired but far removed from death

i’d like to show that woman
two lovers in the midst of war
but lovers nonetheless
let her hear the poems in their moans
beading on their backs like sweat
i’d like to take her gently by the hand and say
don’t take on everything the men say
as Truth for you even if they’re poets
trust your womb your second heart
see if it does not tell you
the reason for a woman’s poetry is
Life


mary oishi
3 march 2006