The Art of Finding

The process begins with whatever the material of the eventual poem is and my wrestling with it. And I continue to pursue and try to understand what my spirit, my psyche, my body, which is holding memory of this thing, are trying to communicate to me. When I've hit that point, I usually have already found the bone of the thing that I have been pursuing all along. Then I begin thinking aesthetically, then I begin thinking about making what I'm working with a poem. That formulation has become the most effective approach to it because it obviates the possibility of a well-made poem that doesn't have a heartbeat.