I asked Archie what
was the great motivator
that made him write:
whence comest such sublime
inspiration: and he looked
for a second like
a man who had
given up smoking years
ago but still recalls
the one he had
before he went to
bed: David, he said,
I'm going to tell
you the truth: it
was anxiety that made
me do it, the
pressure too much to
bear, too urgent the
need for release if
only for the ten
minutes it took me
to write a poem
David Lehman
Copyright © 1998 by David Lehman.
A Daily Poem Special Feature.
Archive of David Lehman's Daily Poems.
All rights reserved.
Reproduced by Poetry Daily with permission.