What is the good paraphrase for ARS POETICA?

“Ars Poetica” is a term that means the art of poetry or
the nature of poetry. The art of poetry refers to what makes poetry different from other
types of writing. The nature of poetry refers to the ways poetry is different from prose
in its expression of meaning. Since Ars Poetica is about how poetry works, an Ars
Poetica poem is a poem about poetry. This would be like writing a song about a song or
writing a book about writing.

Archibald MacLeish’s poem,
aptly titled “Ars Poetica,” is an example of an Ars Poetica poem because it is his
poetic description of what a poem should be. He notes that a poem should transcend its
words (“be wordless”). The poem ends with the often
quoted:

A poem should not
mean

But
be.

In transcending words,
and being silent and free as a flight of birds, MacLeish’s view is that a poem is equal
to a natural, meaningful event or image; not just a representation of  words and
phrase.