"A poem. . . begins as a lump in the throat, 
a sense of wrong . . ."  - Robert Frost


WHAT IS A POEM?
by John T. Baker
A lump in the throat,
A sense of some wrong,
A vessel for sharing
A sigh or a song;

A cry of contrition,
A penance, a plea,
A moment for letting
Your fancy run free.

A sifting of ashes
Of passion and pain,
A balm for the heartaches
That ever remain.

A glimpse of redemption
Dispensed from above,
A means of expressing
The language of love.

For none but the poet
Is truly aware
Of the height of heaven
And the depth of despair.