Poetry, as long as it is poetry, must be the vehicle, the transparent medium, whereby the individual finds himself revealed at home in the unknown, with "each other" and with "all." I myself tend to work out of a most obvious and simple formality of syllables that even a child can grasp -- precisely so that it may be "seen through" and used. Not to count syllables, but to see, hear, that the syllables count. That every sound and pause confer meaning upon the moment in the making. This leaves "form" wide open, in the making. The poet's ear, breath, voice, must carry the specifics and in such a way as to invite others to share the breath, the voice, the uniqueness -- each in his own way.
The poems, insofar as language can for me, reveal one man's realizations of relation and offer the revelation in such a way that other may share the realizations AS OCCASION. A poem that does not taste to the mouth, that doesn't touch the heart, does not draw the relation of each man to each other and his whereabouts is for me inadequate.
The poem is yours or no one's.
Cid Corman
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