Foreward to September Blackberries · by Michael McClure
Each poem should be an experiment – in the sense that there
are experiments in alchemy and biochemistry. I have my tran-
sient meatflesh to play on as if it is a harp. I see all beings as a
finger or tentacle of a universe that is a surge of living matter.
When I make a poem I create an extension of myself. I can feel
more when I write a poem. A poem is like a nasturtium or a
tiny orchid in a ponderosa pine forest. A poem is like a panda
-or a giant ground sloth- or like the breath of a wolf on a
frosty evening. A poem is an amino acid in the ripples of an
endless sea.
A poem is like an ear or shoulder. Poetry is the way that we
extend our inner life. The real inner life is cut off from us -but
we can put it out there and call it a poem. We stand on poetry-
like a steppingstone in a torrent- and are more free. Then we
find the steppingstone is a drunken boat and we’re sailing,
whirling, laughing…