A Reminder
Poetry is important. That's all there is to it. Sometimes we just need to be reminded. I was reminded yesterday by a book I'm reading by Stephanie Saldana, "The Bread of Angels."
"Now I take my seat beside him and he offers me a cigarette. After he lights it, we begin to speak about poetry.
"Do you know what I have decided Stephanie? There are two kinds of poets. The good poet is able to put beautiful words on paper. But the great poet doesn't need words, and he doesn't need paper. The great poet sees that there is poetry in everything."
He steps out of the store and begins pacing back and forth in the alley.
"I've decided that poetry is best considered as a science. So, just as hydrogen and oxygen are bound together to create water, the force that binds them can be compared to poetry. Poetry is an invisible energy that exists between everything, holding it together, giving it meaning. The job of every human being is to search for the poetry hidden within the midst of things."
Something about him seems desperate. He keeps pacing.
"So, this brings us back to the role of poets in society. Some people write poetry, and some people live poetry. The man who lives poetry is the greater of the two."
"Now I take my seat beside him and he offers me a cigarette. After he lights it, we begin to speak about poetry.
"Do you know what I have decided Stephanie? There are two kinds of poets. The good poet is able to put beautiful words on paper. But the great poet doesn't need words, and he doesn't need paper. The great poet sees that there is poetry in everything."
He steps out of the store and begins pacing back and forth in the alley.
"I've decided that poetry is best considered as a science. So, just as hydrogen and oxygen are bound together to create water, the force that binds them can be compared to poetry. Poetry is an invisible energy that exists between everything, holding it together, giving it meaning. The job of every human being is to search for the poetry hidden within the midst of things."
Something about him seems desperate. He keeps pacing.
"So, this brings us back to the role of poets in society. Some people write poetry, and some people live poetry. The man who lives poetry is the greater of the two."
