An old/new poem of mine, in memory of Anthony Hecht

Roger Tory Peterson "has the ability to refrain from painting something beautiful when it’s unnecessary”


What in the world is there that won’t be
Drawn to the attention of his humane skill?
Let him refrain from the unnecessary

And sketch around the essence with a free
Hand. (Add your hand, also, if you will.)
What in the world is there that won’t be

Captured by his brush? This imagery
Is never overdone: as if a trill
Let him refrain from the unnecessary

Beauty of a long-held note. A chickadee
Can improvise the melody to fill
What, in this world, is there. That won’t be

Hard to seize, either – simplicity
Demands the feather stripped to the quill.
Let him refrain. From the unnecessary

To the essential is the only flight
He must risk, and the one flight words can’t kill.
What in the world is there that won’t be?
Let him refrain from the unnecessary.