Today we present a poem by Rob MacWolf, co-writer of Mare Solatium, a Visual Novel, and whose stories you can find in anthologies from the Furry Historical Fiction Society, as well as on his SoFurry gallery.

Read by Ta’kom Ironhoof, the Equine Charmer.

thevoice.dog | Apple podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts

If you have a story you think would be a good fit, you can check out the requirements, fill out the submission template and get in touch with us.

https://thevoice.dog/episode/a-poetic-definition-by-rob-macwolf

You’re listening to Poetry Month on The Voice of Dog.

Today we present a poem by Rob MacWolf,

co-writer of Mare Solatium,

a Visual Novel, and whose stories you can find in anthologies

from the Furry Historical Fiction Society,

as well as on his SoFurry gallery.

Read by Ta’kom Ironhoof,

the Equine Charmer. Please enjoy

“A Poetic Definition”,

a poem by Rob MacWolf

There are schools of thought where thinking must needs

work like thin magnetics,

Aligning every glittering gear with every last ball-bearing,

So that the world is

dissected by 'if and only' statements

To categories perfect,

and to crystal clear declensions.

But these are not the only orthodoxy we've invented,

And mother nature does not write

in dictionary dryness.

So many things cross over,

as in limina-like haunting,

From one sphere to another,

quite unconscious of the border.

So thus the poor philosopher,

confounded by plucked chicken.

So thus the gender binary is broken into spectrum.

So thus the evolutioning,

through fire and love and hunger,

From wolf upon the frozen steppes

to squeaky bone and walkies.

I would not look for poetry in any definition.

But in the density of truth constraint

of form imposes, Like carbonated soda bottle,

contents under pressure,

Like oak limbs grown thrice thicker,

from holding up the ivy,

Like depth of feeling shown

but by the effort to contain it.

For even in free verse,

the plain truth that plain prose speaks plainly

Is crystalized, is sanctified,

to a mosaic icon.

And does the halo make the icon?

Or the jeweled letters?

The colors of the tesserae?

The linden wood unblemished?

The weeks of prayer and fasting before brush

may meet with palate?

Or is it in enthronement

in the shrine or sanctuary

That painting or mosaic

or stained glass

becomes an icon? This was “A Poetic Definition”

by Rob MacWolf, read for you by READER, with CALLSIGN.

Thank you for listening

to The Voice of Dog.