Belief in the Seated Artist

Lorca said he lacked it.
The artist he believed
Was walking down the road.

Such healthful sentiment!
A bit of Whitmanic
Manliness there—open

Road, discovery, fresh
Air! Matthew Zapruder
Recently quoted this

Favorably, in terms
Of readerly surprise,
Language liberation,

Poetry’s purpose, hope
For possibility.
Forgive us for staying

Seated. Not everyone
Can walk the road safely
Or at all, not even

Among the newest, best
American poets,
Never mind the older,

Lesser varieties,
The poets without roads,
The poets where the roads

Will kill pedestrians.
The communal spirit,
The lyric as uplift,

As dreaming, resonance,
And determination
Are all admirable.

The seated artist may,
However, yet surprise
You, come back from your walk.