National Poetry Month
by Elaine Equi
When a poem speaks by itself，it has a spark
and can be considered part of a divine conversation.
Sometimes the poem weaves like a basket around two loaves of yellow bread.
"Break off a piece of this April with its raisin nipples，" it says.
"And chew them slowly under your pillow. You belong in bed with me."
On the other hand，when a poem speaks in the voice of a celebrity
it is called television or a movie. "There is nothing to see，"
say Robert De Niro，though his poem bleeds all along the edges
like a puddle crudely outlined with yellow tape
at the crime scene of spring.
"It is an old poem，" he adds.
"And besides，I was very young when I made it."
