Growing Poets

How do you grow a poet?
—Robert Kroetsch


Is that more of your artsy crap?
—Mandy Heyens


How do you grow poets? You are the model.

Distrust poetry. Do not let it. In the house. Keep it.
Out of your life. Keep it. Away. From you.

Kiss poets, but do not trust them. Do not trust.
Their words, how easily their words
come to them. Come.

Suspect them. Suspect their kisses. Tell them.
That. They must be lying.

Don’t kiss them. Not at first. Make them wait. For many years.
Make them. Beg. Ignore their begging. Until they run out of words.

Then. When they have said everything. When they are empty.

If they stay. If they give up. But they stay.
If they cannot leave you.

Then.

Kiss them, fill them up,
now that all of those worthless words are gone,

give them poetry.