Pen & Wash – ‘Herrick’ … WHB (1956)
Archibald MacLeish ends his poem ‘Ars Poetica’ with the words
“A poem should not mean
But be”
Licence to Versify
My poem exists
Not because
But in spite of me
A virgin birth
Wrenched from an empty womb
An absent father
Mother-smothered
A moment’s thought
spilt words
simultaneously apt
yet contradictory
In black
On shaded parchment
Devoid of sense
Yet full of purpose
Intent on birth
But clutched by death
Flying free yet
tightly bound
A stillbirth
Suspiciously silent
A jewel in jet
Contradicting sense
By being senseless
Licensed to thrill
For good or ill
Roland's Ragbag 