only a footnote

He wrote the kind of poetry that would never accrete any lasting acclaim but might hang on for a time as a footnote.

prose buttress

A foot/headnote to a poem is but a prose buttress. Ideally free-standing the poem should be.

duly noted

By the novelty of his work, the poet had secured for himself a footnote in any overview of literature of the times. For some poets, I’m afraid, that’s all they aspire to.

footnote to a poem

A footnote to a poem is either an affectation or it is the failure of a word or line to hold its own against time.