Before Simonides
The ancient Greeks had no word for blue
Soon to be the world’s favorite color until
A philosopher borrowed the word for “dark”
And language like a light switch
Turned the ocean from dark to blue.
Imagine the surprise of confused cetaceans
And the fear of sailors swimming
In the instant separation of poems and prose
Into respective corners
From which their authors emerged like boxers.
I try to take my poems by surprise,
Converting water into wine
By arrows launched from behind a rock.