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The Art of Polishing Words | Mary McIssac

Writer: IPM Team
IPM Team
Mar 13
1 min read

Updated: Sep 2

A photo of plants in the evening sun that are blurry. There is a poem overlaid titled "The Art of Polishing Words" by Mary McIsaac. It reads "At the New Year's Eve concert tonight in Vienna / All the instruments were polished / Please note that I did not say "shined". / I said polished. / There is a difference between shined and polished / And like a good Thomist / I am careful about making distinctions that clarify. // Fine poetry comes from polished words / Polished by the words themselves rubbing against / One and other on the page / I don't have to struggle. / The words do all the work. // But sometimes / There is a moment / when they need a nudge / from under the table / Where the words are lying flat / And are not quite ready / to spring to life on the page / If I can honor that moment / And coax the words into their poetic place, then / I have found something / Humming with the creative force, the om / That is vibrant, explosive and alive in all creation."

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This poem was included in IPM's March 2026 Newsletter.

Access the full Newsletter here.

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