Old Poets

Joyce Kilmer, best known for "Trees," turns his pen to something closer to home in this wry, affectionate tribute to the poets who came before him. "Old Poets" is a gentle spoof, a poem that celebrates fellow writers while poking fun at the romantic image of the struggling artist. Dedicated to his friend and editor Robert Holliday, the piece bounces through the follies and charms of those who peddle verses, asking with twinkling skepticism whether their ink is truly black or merely dark gray. It's Kilmer unbound: clever, self-aware, and willing to laugh at the very tribe he belongs to. The poem appears in "Trees, and Other Poems" (1914), the same collection that gave the world his most famous work, and it reveals a poet who could poke fun at poetic pretension while clearly loving the game. For readers who think poetry must always be solemn, here is Kilmer proving the form can grin.