A Poet’s Credo
A Poet’s Credo
poem by Alice Jane-Marie Massa
I believe
in the reading and writing,
the creativity of poetry.
I believe in
the uplifting quality , wonder, tension, tenderness,
translucency, and tranquility
of the mirror of poetry.
I believe
in the angel wings of muses
that gently brush the poet.
I believe I have written poetry
with a plume
which was once an angel’s feather.
when I could no longer write with the plume,
I used the bold-nibbed fountain pen that bled into
the porous beige paper that wrapped around the bundles of
The Daily Clintonian.
When angel feathers and fountain pens
had to be put aside,
I turned to poetry
penned with a bold felt-tipped marker
and bold-line paper.
For a brief while,
white letters on a very large and dark screen
of a closed-circuit television (CCTV)
magnified my poetic world for me.
As my world was draped
with more and more curtains of gray,
a talking computer
came my way on an angel’s wing
so that still I could write
plenty of poetry.
Alas, the dancing feet of angels
stepped on my blank pages
and embossed the magical dots of braille
so that I could read aloud for others to hear
the poetry—
my poetry—
in which my heart
believes.
* * *
NOTE: On January 19, I wrote this poem to share with my monthly critique group which met on January 26. Would you like to write an “I believe” poem or essay? I highly recommend the book entitled THIS I BELIEVE (Series, Book 1, copyright 2007) which is a collection of short personal essays by a variety of individuals. This book is based on the NPR series of the same name. During my later years of teaching, I used this book for a unit in one of my college-level writing courses.
Best wishes for a happy February!
Alice and Leader Dog Willow
February 1, 2023, Wednesday
alice13wordwalk 
I, too, wrote a poem inspired by something I heard on the This I Believe series on National Public Radio. It was published in How to Build a Better Mousetrap and is entitled “Dear Bill.” I’ll see if I can find the book. Thank you for sharing this poem.
Good Thursday evening, Abbie–Many thanks for giving this post a “like”
and for commenting! I am glad to hear that you also read the book THIS
I BELIEVE and that you were inspired to write a similar type of poem. I
know I have read the poem you mentioned because I purchased that
particular book of yours a number of years ago.
Enjoy a creative February–Alice and Willow
I thought you might have read that for ticks particular poetry collection of mine. That’s why I mentioned the title. Since you’re reading this poem during the BOE readers workshop on Tuesday, if time allows, I’ll read my belief poem. Please forgive my typos. I am hurrying Lee dictating this on my iPhone before zooming into an ACV community social call.
Abbie–Sounds like a plan!
Looking forward to Tuesday evening’s Readers’ Workshop–Alice
Alice, I really enjoyed reading this poem for two reasons: the beauty of the writing itself, and the chronology of your vision loss which never slowed you down. Recent days busy, but I always read your posts even if I don’t respond at once.
Hi, Sue–No matter when you are able to take the time to respond or
comment, I am grateful to find a note from you on WORDWALK.
With thanks and good wishes, Alice and Willow
This is so beautiful! I especially love your closing lines:
“. . . the dancing feet of angels
stepped on my blank pages
and embossed the magical dots of braille
so that I could read aloud for others to hear
the poetry—
my poetry—
in which my heart
believes.”
The imagery of dancing angel feet creating braille communicates strength, magic, and joy.
Hello, Amy–Welcome to WORDWALK, and thank you for reading this poem and sending a lovely comment. My sister has told me a little about your writing, and I wish you much success and happiness with the publication of your children’s books.
Take care!
Alice