The Poem Engine

Load it up with the sack of letter
Fresh from recycled dictionaries.
It chews 'em up into their parts,
Like a child devouring candy.

The fuel is human nature
Firing the grimy engine of creation,
Which can usually be found
Seeping from the pores of the poor.

Flip the switch and power her up,
Her rumble is more than I can bear,
As she combines the harvest of definition
Into treacle and vinegar on bitter parchment.

The product is rolled and hung out to dry
For the quality inspector to scrutinise.
Each simile and metaphor is polished to shine
Like a glimmer of hope for a prize.

Edward Lear, English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, died on this day in 1888.

Robert Frost, American poet, died today in 1963.