Just put pencil to paper–

how hard can it be?

0.7 mm #2 graphite

against compressed sawdust

bleached eggshell,

crossed in cerulean and salmon.

How hard can it be?

Just a tiny bit of force

aided by friction.

Just tendons and ligaments,

muscles and bones.

Is that all it takes to make art?

Words are easy–

see how they spill

in orderly fashion

from my fingertips?

But poetry–

that song on paper,

that image-less picture,

that ethereal fae,

Poetry’s a different thing entirely.

Sure, maybe I’ll make a poem by

just putting pencil to page,

Or maybe all I’ll make is

scattered lines

empty squiggles

a thin layer of graphite

on compressed sawdust bleached white.