The Prose Poem

The prose poem is not a real poem, of course.
One of the major differences is that the prose
poet is incapable, either too lazy or too stupid,
of breaking the poem into lines. But all writing,
even the prose poem, involves a certain amount
of skill, just the way throwing a wad of paper,
say, into a wastebasket at a distance of twenty
feet, requires a certain skill, a skill that, though
it may improve hand-eye coordination, does not
lead necessarily to an ability to play basketball.
Still it takes practice and thus gives one a way
to pass the time, chucking one paper after an-
other at the basket, while the teacher drones on
about the poetry of Tennyson.

by Louis Jenkins