The Poetic Process: Dip Your Hummingbird
by Hillary Lyon


you know this line
comes
after that line
like the mailman after lunch
like monsoon rain after drought

the poem hesitates--no--that's an intentional pause
the poem has an occasional stuttering of sense
--no--that's preconceived ambiguity
but now the poem has a burst
of lyrical love-words as pretty as wisteria draping

springtime lazy across your lattice-work of words
it's o.k. to linger there
to enjoy the sleepy purple-tinted shade
the animated green-dappled shadow
it's o.k. to dip your hummingbird

tongue into any random blossom
take a sip and shake the dust
from your iridescent, feathered cape
fueling your heart-beat's wild
and soaring joy






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