the geography of poetics

Look at some collection of words. Each word points
directly to its definition, which sums up all of the
word's usages. A definition is like the grand central
station of a word.

A poem asks the reader to travel in and between word
metropolises: from the city center, then out into the
countryside, and into nearby towns and cities. To look
around, and get to know what happens here.

By suggesting direct connections between now-adjacent but
geographically disparate words (both on the page and
implied), poetry invites the reader into the unexpected:
"lavender" "bouquet"... this excellent wine has a lavender
bouquet!

The reader's emotions or thoughts come from their road
weariness or their wanderlust; or from their sense of
themselves playing a profound role in the world of the
poem: bringing mountains to Mohamed, or stealing fire from
the gods.

The reader and the poet together have between them life, a
whole world, in a jar.

The reader may dive in as a hero, an explorer, or a mere
tourist, but the poet is always Geographer of the
Possible. The poem itself is a handshake between poet and
reader, a thin surface, a hot air balloon drifting along
cultural currents to unknown destinations.