WHAT ALL POETS SHOULD KNOW

All poets should know the first poem they ever wrote by heart.

All poets should know a hawk from a handsaw.

All poets should know what their names mean.

All poets should know Susie like I knew Susie.

 

All poets should know their worth in salt.

All poets should know seven words that rhyme with womb.

All poets should know at least one poem by Emily Dickinson

other than "I never saw a Moor" by heart.

All poets should know at least one poem by William Carlos Williams

other than "The Red Wheelbarrow" by heart.

 

All poets should know what a Moor looks like.

All poets should know what kind of hat Marianne Moore wore.

All poets should know what Wallace Stevens once said.

All poets should know what their name looks like in Chinese.

 

All poets should know that a poem should be read with one's nerves.

All poets should know William Stafford's cure for writer's block.

All poets should know what baseball team Marianne Moore rooted for.

All poets should know that the Irish bards wore the king's colors less one.

 

All poets should know when to lower their standards.

All poets should know that the Irish bards sat at the king's right hand.

All poets should know the muse's cell phone number by heart.

All poets should know their limits.

 

All poets should know how ink is manufactured.

All poets should know how to play tennis without a net.

All poets should know how pens are manufactured.

All poets should know their wife's birthday.

 

All poets should know how paper is manufactured.

All poets should know their wedding anniversary.

All poets should know how PC's work.

All poets should know their cholesterol level.

 

All poets should know the back of their hand.

All poets should know how pencils are manufactured.

All poets should know what to do with a red wheelbarrow.

All poets should know their heart by heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

POEM WRITTEN BY THE WIND AND MY DICTIONARY LYING ON THE TABLE BY THE OPEN WINDOW

 

omen omentum

omer omicron

 

ominous omissible

omission ommissive

 

omit ommatidium

ommatophore ommiad

 

omnibus omnifarious

omnificent omnipotence

omnipresent omniscient

omnium gatherum

omnivore omphacite

omphalos