SOURCE: “Permitting Craft,” in Field, No. 25, Fall, 1981, pp. 20-2.

In the following essay, Turner examines Francis's “Silent Poem,” not for his “craftmanship”—which has been thoroughly explored by other critics—but for the subtle qualities of the poem which go beyond the mere “craft” of poetry.

“silent Poem”

backroad                    leafmold                    stonewall                    chipmunk underbrush                    grapevine                    woodchuck                    shadblow 

woodsmoke                    cowbarn                    honeysuckle                    woodpile sawhorse                    bucksaw                    outhouse                    wellsweep 

backdoor                    flagstone                    bulkhead                    buttermilk candlestick                    ragrug                    firedog                    brownbread 

hilltop                    outcrop                    cowbell                    buttercup whetstone                    thunderstorm                    pitchfork                    steeplebush 

gristmill                    millstone                    cornmeal                    waterwheel watercress                    buckwheat                    firefly                    jewelweed 

gravestone                    groundpine                    windbreak                    bedrock weathercock                    snowfall                    starlight                    cockcrow 

Enough of Robert Francis, Craftsman. He is a craftsman, one of the best, but if the grain were flawed, craft could only emphasize the flaw. I should rather examine the grain, a perception both wry and straightforward, complex and complete.

“Silent Poem” was invited before it was made. Francis says that he...