the true poet knows words
are second to action weaker
than blood spilled on the battleground
of human rights and dignity
the true poet carries the blood
of the people in his veins
he doesn’t speak in a rambling dialect
but in short sentences
he does not require a dictionary
to be understood
the true poet is steeped in tradition
he does not play politics
he is politics
the true poet is a tree
with far reaching branches
he is the crust on a loaf of bread
he is the dream within a dream
he is a mother giving
a newborn baby the milk of life
he is a kite soaring toward the sky
he is the thunder in a storm
his words a bolt of lightning
that light up the sky
the true poet does not beg applause
or make love to the microphone
he carries humility like
a mother holds her baby
in a warm embrace
he lives on the edge
his eyes are his tongue
his tongue his strength
he is a gardener planting seeds
in mind gardens
he is the first ray of sun that breaks
through the morning fog
his words walk the streets
run a marathon sleep with him
make love to him
the true poet does not die
but lives on through eternity
waits like cosmic dust
to be reborn
Photography Credit: Jason Rice
A.D. Winans is an award winning San Francisco poet and writer. His work has appeared internationally and has been translated into 8 languages. He edited and published Second Coming Press from 1972-1989. In 2006 he won a PEN National Josephine Miles Award for excellence in literature. In 2009 PEN Oakland Presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009 he was presented with a Kathy Acker award in poetry and publishing.
