student

by Lisa O’Neil Guerci

Try to write a poem
without using cloying words
often found there

instructed my mind,
my intellect,
to a part of my heart-
the student.

In order to be
prosaic,
be a mosaic-

don’t merely rely
upon clouds
or the moon.

And by all means,
avoid clichés like
birds in flight

or your sad and lonely
soul in the night

(although…
you already know
you write from yours).

Attempt a few crazy words…
don’t rely on lazy words.

You might include:
prevaricate,
extrapolate,
or even juggernaut.

Write with dagger-like
jagged words,
ragged words,
hangnail words that scratch
and itch
and tickle.

Utilize a few made-up words
not played-out words.

Use phrases that heal.

Let poetry recreate
a verbal caress
the reader
will viscerally feel.

Use sharp words;
harsh words,
a slap-to-the-face

to jar them back
to reality-
a physical place.

Then,
and only then,
return to what you know.

Let those other words
soften and sift…
let them drift away
like snow

as you’re led back
to that familiar cave
filled with what you know-

where a hum
and a hush
fills the void

with words like

lonely and
love,

haunting and
soul,

and the brave,
bare light of the moon.