James Joyce said that every story must have an “epiphany”. In the dictionary, epiphany is defined as ‘a manifestation of a divine or supernatural being’, or a ‘moment of sudden revelation.’ The reader’s world is changed through this revelation, and the change is permanent.
What’s true for stories is also true for poetry.
It is not an exaggeration to say that a good poem is a ticking bomb. It explodes, but that explosion must take place in the reader, not in the poem itself. The reader turns the page, closes the book, and… bang. If it explodes too soon, the effect on the reader is diminished, it’s residual.
It’s is like a grenade exploding half way to the target, or even worse – in the thrower’s hand. It may harm the poet, or its explosion may do nothing but warn the enemy of an imminent attack, but it doesn’t pierce through the reader’s armor. Shrapnel pieces are scattered all over his body, but the force doesn’t reach his insides, it doesn’t effect the permanent change that Joyce is talking about.
A good poem assassinates the reader.
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