TUNING IN

      As the Old Master said, “It’s just a line
      That gets you started on a would-be poem,”
      No abstract scheme or fanciful design,
      Just let your morning mind begin to roam,
      Tune in to that elusive, vital source,
      Like finding on a crystal a sweet spot
      That fills your earphones by a magic force
      With far-off sounds some other brain begot.
      And don’t be too inquisitive about
      The nature of this vatic provenance,
      But cultivate an attitude devout
      While line by line you see your verse advance.
           Your job’s to be receptive to what comes
           Then amplify what at the first just hums.

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