Hasty definition

A poem
           is the occasion
of its creation
           of its being
of its breath
           of its expression

and it may contain
           or exclude all things
and all times
           and all places
and all feelings
           and all thoughts
and all dreams
           and all words
and however much
           silence it requires

a poem may be spun
           from a web of emotions
or of affections
           or of affiliations
local
           or international
public or personal
           but a poem must
have the courage
           to speak the truth
to admire beauty
           and to value love
and tenderness
           above all else

John Lyons