Martin Ott

MARTIN OTT

The Poem That Got Away

Was rumored to be on a milk
carton cupping the most poignant
of childhood memories. It was
legendary in its ability to dodge
the page. Was there a phrase in French
mixed with Latin? It made a cameo
in your recurring dream, the first few
lines slipping off your tongue before
circling the earth along the bottom
of storm clouds. The pen quivered
from your effort to reform the mist,
duende dripping with the ichor of blood
and ink. The keyboard blinked with weak
batteries. The inspiration of the sky slipped
away into darkness or light. The ending
was actually the beginning. The other poets
circled the hilltops, hunting this shape-
shifting verse. You followed your Minerva
of aching, images dangling like phantom
limbs. Even before you finished your quest,
you channeled the trickster. You met the void.
You laid the trap that could not be ignored
with the sequel: The poem that must die.

Martin Ott has published eight books of poetry and fiction, most recently LESSONS IN CAMOUFLAGE, C&R Press, 2018. His first two poetry collections won the De Novo and Sandeen Prizes. His work has appeared in more than two hundred magazines and fifteen anthologies. More at www.martinottwriter.com.