Good job these poets aren’t tightrope walkers
she said, else half the fakers would be dead –-
another tumble from a tone-deaf shocker.
But for a few still dexterous in their tread
this formal panache isn’t just possible,
it’s song as comprehension in itself:
how meaning’s strung out between two shelves.
True balance makes this highwire crossable
and through that crossing unforgettable.
Forget the risible rise of the hot take
then, poets who play politics, mistake
strength of feeling for technique. Unable
to admit our readers are turning away
they applaud themselves beneath time’s walkway.
