Poetry as Surprise

On an afternoon exploration of Dunbarton Oaks in Georgetown, I was struck by the sudden discovery of a garden pool with a crystal canopy.  Over the pool, as if magically suspended, dangled thousand of shimmering crystals.  What a delight to see a space in such a surprising way.

Linda Pastan , a local poet, writes of this "surprise of difference"  between the "expected and the actual." W.S. Merwin spoke of "poetry as a surprise"  in  a recent  a documentary.

Surprise is one of the many desired qualities in the writing of a poem, in the reading of one,  or in discovering an unexpected garden of shimmering stones.

May your writing bring surprises.