The Poet as Destroyer

 Poets get lumped in with creative types all of the time. And that is fine because we do our fair share of creating. But a path may only lead so far until you realize you've been trapped. So you must work your way back, unpave the road behind you and begin again from scratch.

The road back and the unpaving are important. Never more so than now. So, the idea that a poet could or should move beyond this point is irresponsible. I mean, do what you have to to protect your mental health. But this work is important.

So, here is your mental image. You are on an island, and the slowest-moving tidal wave you can imagine is rapidly closing in. From the shore, you can see it. You can see it creeping, ever so slowly toward you. You know that once it hits, life as you know it will change forever.

So, how do we "literally" go down that road and unpave it behind us. First, it seems, we have to recognize the value of doing it. But we can't literally blow up the road, and in fact, it would be valueless to destroy something that would only be replaced in kind. Hence, the work has to be done at the ideological level. We have to "literally" (as in a literary or language space) unpave the road. And to do that we have to retrace our steps. Because we are now trapped. 

My instincts tell me that there's no way to stop the tidal wave. But the fight is still important. The work is still important. And to look myself in the mirror, I have to say I tried in whatever small capacity I can.

Recommended follow-up reading.