Manifesto for a Life of Poetry

G. Ryder
rev. 09/13/04

A polished stone poised on another and another
A sphere rolls in perfect motion on a perfect narrow ledge
These extraordinary moments die in a shifting of powers
Time is capable of many arrangements
These truths are present
The truth of the stars, the white lily, the decades
The give and take of experience
Choose your poems from these. Or don’t
But
Remember the coming to choose
Remember how truth overcame your stillness
The dim light of new awareness
Some truth only you recognize
As it slips neatly into place
A kind of pure speech or elemental music
Only balancing just on the verge
of words and notes
And the moment is here
calling for more imagination, more belief, more rebellion.