How to be a poet

how to be a poet

in the mornings
leave the dishes
they will get done - later

go outside
dream a little
listen to the trees talking
the air whispering
birds gossiping

let your words slide
drop off the page
cluster into twos and threes
let them dance
forming their own rhythm

in the evenings
leave the dishes
they will wait till - later

go outside
taste the darkness
savour smells
jasmine, woodsmoke
eucalyptus after rain

let your words discover
small silences
let them drift
pooling in shadows
bubbling into poems

© Heather Matthew 2008