A poem is a voyage into meaning
It cannot arrive until the pen is put down
The ink dries
And it is ready for death, for the museum.
Ah, what of vision, you may say,
The dream of Kubla Khan and pleasure domes?
Never the final word!
The person from Porlock does not just arrive
And break the spell
The person from Porlock is vital to the work
Is always knocking at the door
You cannot translate the pain and joy
And seize the sky
Unless you open the door and let in the words
The words worn smooth by thousands, words of centuries
You must summon them,
Pick them from the hoard, cast them anew.
Notes: The story of Coleridge being interrupted while writing "Kubla Khan" is famous - and he certainly lost his flow ! The wonderful phrase "seize the sky" appears in the Latin epitaph
written by the bishop of Todi on the memorial to Jacapone, my medieval
poet-hero who in my opinion deserves to be high in the pantheon,
although not a fellow to be tolerated in normal society!
- Richard Posner
