How does a poem begin?
i am not
certain it begins at all
Frederick
Hoyle, in an effort to
prove
the existence of gawd
suggests
that a collection
of
airplane parts
falling
to the ground
will not
assemble themselves
into a
plane
he
thinks there's something
divine
about creation
so i
don't know
all i
know is i am restless
more
comfortable with
who and
what are wild
so maybe
a poem
no
maybe
the poem
because
I'm not sure
i write
individual poems
i think
possibly i am always
just
writing
if
writing is me constantly
ruminating
and meandering
maybe
the poem never begins
because
it never ends
ouroboros
nautilus
chamber
echo of soundings
inside
and out
does it
assemble somehow
into a
flying machine,
small or
large,
of words
maybe
i only
want to draw us closer
to
doodle us closer
you and
me
kindred
weird
wild and
close
maybe a
poem begins with birth
but i
don't believe it ends
recently
two great loves died
if i
keep talking about their lives
maybe
they never end
maybe a
poem
is a
perpetual motion machine
fill the
bird's cup with water
soak its
beak
see the
red food colouring rise
watch
the bird dip its beak
over and
over into the water
maybe a
poem begins
with a
parched beak
Amanda Earl (she/her) [photo credit: Susan Johnston from Jane's Walk - Ottawa in Verse on Sunday, May 4, 2025] is a polyamorous pansexual intersectional feminist who writes, edits, reviews, publishes, does poetry and visual poetry workshops, and organizes literary events on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Peoples. Earl is managing editor of Bywords.ca and editor of Judith: Women Making Visual Poetry (Timglaset Editions, 2021). Her latest poetry book is Beast Body Epic, a long-poem collection provoked by her near-death health crisis. Subscribe to Amanda Thru the Looking Glass, her Substack for quotes of the week, recipes and tips on saving money on food, and miscellaneous whimsy.
