"A blog is to a writer what a canvas is to an artist." ~ Colleen Redman

This is not a Real Poem

It’s a list of words I like
A finger pointing mouthful of spelling
Vanity license plate of noisy graffiti
 
It’s not a real poem
It’s a game show in morse code
buy a vowel to solve the puzzle
 
This is the fall of the oral
laid out on pavement
on billboards and keyboards
in jingles and journals
 
This is not a real poem
It’s a phonetic romantic amniotic rhythm
A test tube word zoo just to see what they do
 
Alpha Beta Delta goose!
It’s a twisted linguistic flash card circus
for all you know it’s a scrambled alphabet
scrabble letter sale
 
You never heard this
It isn’t real
 
It’s a fish tale grocery list
Go ask the beatniks
Go ask the experts
what a real poem is
 
This could be an eye chart
and unpublished word search
This could be a counterfeit
Go and ask the experts
 
They know what’s authentic
what’s serious business
This is not a real poem
for all you know
____________Colleen Redman  / Poets United

11 Responses | Add your Own

  • 1 Mary:

    Interesting! I read it over a few times and decided this IS a real poem. The ‘experts’ are no more expert than a poet is. And – ha – all poetry should be composed of words the poet likes! Smiles.

  • 2 Sanaa Rizvi:

    Oh but this is a real poem and quite a breathtaking one too!! ❤️

  • 3 Sherry Blue sky:

    I smiled at the idea of poem as vanity licence plate. And the unpublished word search. This poem made me smile.

  • 4 Penelope Puddlisms:

    Ah … this poem about being a non-poem delightfully expresses a love of language and the potential words bring to a phrase. It brought to mind Steve Wright who once said, “I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything.”

  • 5 Magical Mystical Teacher:

    Nevertheless, I like your unreal, not-a-poem!

  • 6 Barbara MacKenzie:

    brillant…reality is formless that is the beauty of it…thank you…bkm

  • 7 Bjorn Rudberg:

    I wonder if anyone can really say what’s a poem except the poet… I tend to have trust in experts, but when it comes to poems it’s lessened.

  • 8 ZQ:

    I Liked This Piece. But, What do I Know : )

  • 9 robtkistner:

    Brilliantly sarcastic, and sarcastically funny Colleen – love it!

  • 10 Truedessa:

    A poem is a work of art and the message it sends is subjective. It all depends on point of view. I say this non-poem is a poem a unique piece of creativity.

  • 11 Mr. Walker:

    This is not a comment on what may or may not be a real poem: love those last two lines – and the idea of a game show in morse code.

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