I don’t know if it is the fact that April is National Poetry Month, but my mind keeps going to poetry these days, and where my mind goes, my fingers and heart follow.
Words written on fragile pages
journals of my life’s journey
sometimes joyous
often sad
meant for no eyes but my own
except . . . perhaps
future generations.
These words comfort and console.
Friendships formed
over books devoured
and discussed in lively groups
some loved
some hated
some faced with confusion.
Books written in words
of hope, of pain, of life.
I travel with these words and feel less alone.
Words written in
the pages of technology
linking me to voices
across the nation
across the world
reaching for people who understand
who celebrate
who love words
who love thought
who live fully.
These words connect me beyond my emptiness.
Books read in the privacy
of loneliness
speaking in the voice
of friends from afar,
sharing thoughts, ideas
opinions, refutations
and connections.
These words validate and enhance the words I seek.
Words are my friends
words are my enemy
words are my sustenance
words are my emptiness
words are my life.
” . . . I realized that maybe writing doesn’t require sacrifice. Maybe it’s a gift to experience emotions through our brushes, ink, and paper. I wrote out of sorrow, fear, and hate. You wrote out of desire, joy, and love. We each paid a heavy price for speaking our minds, for revealing our hearts, fort trying to create,but it was worth it, wasn’t it, daughter?” (Lisa See, Peony in Love, 242)
Apr 15, 2012 @ 10:39:25
Wow. I love the last verse. So beautiful.
Apr 15, 2012 @ 10:47:09
Thank you.
Apr 16, 2012 @ 05:17:21
It’s funny what poetry does to us. I’m feeling the same kind of nudge from poetry lately, although not just because it’s national poetry month. I think that poetry gets us writing at a more intimate level, a sign of writer’s growth.
Apr 16, 2012 @ 08:52:27
I bounce back and forth from poetry all the time. I wrote a few more poems yesterday, but I’m not sure I will post them.
Apr 16, 2012 @ 09:15:26
I love poetry. I have a whole bookshelf of poetry books, and I ocassionally wax poetic. Think poetry is the the freest form of expression a writer can have – you can soar with poetry, express yourself in a way you can’t with prose. I relate completely to the verse where you talk about words linking us to voices across the nation and across the world. So true, and beautifully put. Thanks for this ode to poetry, Lisa.
Apr 16, 2012 @ 09:27:21
Thank you so much Joan.
Apr 16, 2012 @ 15:41:04
Some of us love words so much, don’t we? I like your poetry. It speaks to the heart. Thank you, sweet poetess.
Apr 16, 2012 @ 16:30:17
Thank you, Kathy.