I learned from the slush
pile a good poem repeats
unselfconsciously
the miracle of
creation out of nothing:
irregular sur-
face of a real pearl;
the awkward radiance of
a child’s smile, the birth-
mark on your lover’s
inner thigh. Otherness for
its own sake can’t be
faked. Call it God’s sign.
The real thing justifies the
waste of hours, the rage.
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Author: Tom D'Evelyn
Tom D'Evelyn is a private editor and writing tutor in Cranston RI and, thanks to the web, across the US and in the UK. He can be reached at tom.develyn@comcast.net. D'Evelyn has a PhD in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley. Before retiring he held positions at The Christian Science Monitor, Harvard University Press, Boston University and Brown University. He ran a literary agency for ten years, publishing books by Leonard Nathan and Arthur Quinn, among others. Before moving to Portland OR he was managing editor at Single Island Press, Portsmouth NH. He blogs at http://tdevelyn.com and other sites.
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