February 2018
After teaching at a college in South Florida for thirty years, I retired, and my wife and I moved halfway across the country. Some of my poems have appeared recently in such journals as The Comstock Review, Main Street Rag, San Pedro Review, and South Florida Poetry Journal. Check out my author's page on Facebook or go to my blog at http://www.michaelminassian.com
Tyger
First, my students want to know
why he misspells tiger;
then they complain that tigers
don’t have wings.
“Why shoulder? Why art?” they cry.
The notion of the blacksmith shop
baffles them even after I explain
Blake used it to represent the creative process,
which they reject as just another
annoying self-reference,
although they give him credit
for not mentioning himself
in the 3rd person or using
the annoying I of the confessional poets.
“The stars stand for angels?” they question;
“Why are they carrying spears
and not automatic weapons – surely if its
God’s army, they are not limited
to a temporal time line or primitive weaponry
– doesn’t God have access
to all future armament?
This is a very confusing poem,
professor, and didn’t he remember
he used “could” in the first stanza?”
Originally appeared in A New Ulster, 2016.
© 2018 Michael Minassian
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