Poetry Precis #5: "The Poet"

In “The Poet,” Tom Wayman uses a catalog style poem, together with a witty and slightly critical tone, to paint a picture of the personality and skills of a poet. He formats the poem in a way that lists all of a poet’s perceived weaknesses, such as that he “may speak much but makes little sense” or “does not understand was he reads.” These might seem true to an outsider observing a poet, but in reality, real poets know how to analyze and dissect poetry better than anyone else, yet sometimes they aren’t able to easily express their thoughts and feelings to others. Poets can spend weeks and weeks analyzing one poem, and although it may seem like they do not understand or cannot comprehend it, they are really just delving into the depths of the poem so much more than the average person. Poets “may recognize a word one day and not the next” because they could find numerous interpretations for words and phrases that could change the whole meaning of a poem. This poem sounds similar and is formatted like a list of symptoms for a behavioral disorder, displaying the humor that poets can be perceived as crazy for the way that they act, but in truth they are pure geniuses. The catalog style of this poem makes it clear for the reader to understand, and helps build the image of all of the habits, quirks and eccentric behaviors of a poet.