there is a fear
that poetry is dead
and while that is not
the case entirely
it does seem under
considerable threat
from multimedia
productions that make
seemingly simple text
somehow insufficient
there is now a new type
of poetry that focuses on
the physical aspects
of the performance
voice and meter become
transformed by the theatrical
mere bombastic exhibition
an unsynthesized form
of hip-hop or hypertext
not that these new forms
should ever be undervalued
as art or denied the name
of poetry it’s just that
we must never forget that
true poetry does not exist
in the performance
of the poet or even
in the mind of the poet
nor does it live in
the pages of a book
just as this poem does
not resonate in the tones
of my voice any more
than on the page
you are now holding
or your computer screen
rather it resides only
in the intermediary
spaces between
the mind and the object
where language dwells
it comes to life only
through the animation
provided by the reader’s voice
provided by your voice