Dumb 
As old medallions to the thumb,

Silent as the sleeve-worn stone 
Of casement ledges where the moss has grown-- 

A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds.

A poem should be motionless in time 
As the moon climbs,

Leaving, as the moon releases 
Twig by twig the night-entangled trees,

Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves, 
Memory by memory the mind--

A poem should be motionless in time 
As the moon climbs.

A poem should be equal to: 
Not true.

For all the history of grief 
An empty doorway and a maple leaf.

For love 
The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea--

A poem should not mean
But be.

by Archibald MacLeish