Old Poet Interrogated
A student asks the old poet why
he has spent so many years
writing. The old poet says
no one’s asked him that before.
He needs a minute to answer.
Finally he says writing a poem
is like becoming a father. You do it
because of the process and not
because of the poem.
A poem doesn’t always arrive
but it’s the process that
keeps him writing.
Donal Mahoney
