both known and felt

Any long poem of worth will be known by its passages while being felt as a whole.

parts of its sum

A long poem known solely in passages and by the sense of its whole.

just passing through

We call them passages because we are unlikely to pass our eyes over them again.

commonplace book

The wondrous passages I can only dimly recall. For many years I trusted memory too much when reading. Now I write things down.

hidden in the negative space

All the words and passages cut away from the poem form a shadow poem that seems to stalk the final draft.

essential eye

As I became a better reader I found I could stare right through the cover and fix my eyes on the few essential passages therein. Or perhaps that was my fantasy.