Wordsmith

By Mehreen Ahmed

Water and oil don’t mix. 
Not much use trying to fix. 
Determined, not to form a new word out of a suffix. 

To create a poem seamlessly; 
a poet is to transcend, from the mundaneness most likely; 
wordsmithing may take place to one’s fancy.

In a poem contrarily;
the poet then must blend in a hyper-reality; 
as Keats maintains in his concept of ‘Negative Capability.’ 

What’s a poet’s relationship with poetry? 
must it remain separate either oily or watery? 
Or should it choose its analogy? 
Own stance on creativity?

A poet’s relationship with the art,
either fully submerged or in part, 
is incapable of seeing an ingrown wart, 
an outsider of a world of smooth skin swart.

Keats called upon to make amends to such limitations; 
one’s uncertainties; 
oil in water does not blend;
cast doubt on those assumptions;
think of false certainties, and rethink talent and capabilities. 

Where poetic flaws may mirror; 
arrogance not to harbour; 
become the poet’s interlocutor;
the malady’s interpreter.

To make sure pure poetry blooms
be a resident in that one room; 
weed them out, seeds of egotism aside with a broom;
to suspend as a person to a large loom.

Wholeheartedly, to belong to the poem without a pen,
to get wrapped up in the oneness of a poetic bubble den, 
allow poetry to breathe fresh through them;
flourish in wreathe from intrepid mayhem for,
oil in water does not blend,
still, it can bend;
couldn’t a poet mend?