Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


WORD DRUNK by JAMES HARRISON

Poet Analysis

First Line: I THINK OF THE TWENTY THOUSAND POEMS OF LI PO
Last Line: SUFFUSED WITH LIGHT.
Subject(s): LANGUAGE; POETRY & POETS; WORDS; VOCABULARY;

I think of the twenty thousand poems of Li Po
and wonder, do words follow me or I them --
a word drunk?
I do not care about fine phrases,
the whoring after honor,
the stipend, the gift, the grant --
but I would feed on an essence
until it yields to me my own dumb form --
the weight raw, void of intent;
to see behind the clarity of my glass
the birth of new creatures
suffused with light.



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