cut it

That most poems could be shorter is perhaps a cliché—then remember that all clichés started as truths.

no course charted

It’s common for poets to say they have no idea where their poems are going when they start writing them, and one can readily see this is true by the poems themselves.

rote tales

The myths are all musty. To echo Sam Goldwyn, “What we need is some new myths.”

cliché critique

When criticizing common expressions or themes, too many critics/reviewers are quick to cue that commonplace dictum of Pound’s: “Make it new.” Shouldn’t the critic/reviewer abide by the same standard and make his/her case without resorting to a cliché quote?

for a single word

The scene is a cliche
But the cliche is a reality

-

The desire to know
what it is that affects me

-

Ich warte immer nur
auf ein Wort
Wenn das wort gesagt ist
ist es mir schon genug

[I always wait
just for a single word
When the word has been said
that is good enough]

-

When the music and the
scratches are part of the
same thing

—Peter Schmidt, selections from The Thoughts Behind The Thoughts (Mindmade Books, 2012)

born blind

A young poet often can’t see clichés: One must be well-read to recognize well-worn words.