The Plunge

For me, this could apply to reading other people's poems or to creating them.

I always look at the length of a poem before I read it. I need to know what distance is involved.

            The Plunge

   When I begin a poem
      I must leave home
 and open wide my eyes
         to see its size,
       to last its length,
     to feel its strength.

     I must fill my lungs
    and take the plunge
   or, falling short of air,
        gasp in despair,
never knowing its breadth
   nor learning its depth.