A few notes
On short, very short, poems
The short poem, the very short poem, is inherently mystical because the poet, spiritual or not, must have faith that the empty space within which the words are set is (in and of itself) imbued with meaning. + The mystic knows the import of the unseen, and how the seen and the unseen are in perpetual correspondence. The short poem, the very short poem, vividly enacts that dynamic on the page. + You can't step in the same word twice. + To use few words, broken down the page according to form or breath alone, or breath in alignment with form (the ideal), is to utilize the space around the words as atmosphere and acoustics. + When each word rings out with curious — quiet — force, the negative space surrounding the poem is activated, made useful. + you think there should be more, but this this is all there is
Two of my favorite contemporary short poem all-stars are Wendy Videlock and Andrea Cohen.
I’d read a whole collection of these “notes”