When people discover that I write a blog, they’re curious about why. I don't have a good answer. The author, Sylvia Plath, does. She says, "I write only because there is a voice in me that will not be still." I can't claim that level of passion. I know that as each title travels to you through electronic space, a new topic captures my attention and begs to be explored. I'm grateful that you are kind enough to read these living insights, and each week I look forward to your comments.
Nikki Giovanni, master poet, gives her compelling perspective on the exchange that happens between writer and reader:
...a poem is pure energy
horizontally contained
between the mind
of the poet and the ear of the reader
if it does not sing discard the ear
for poetry is song
if it does not delight discard
the heart for poetry is joy
if it does not inform then close
off the brain for it is dead
if it cannot heed the insistent message
that life is precious...
We are taught to write early in life. Given the complexity of language, I'm pleased that the 4th grade curriculum includes poetry. To me, it's an art beyond simple writing. I asked my 9-year old granddaughter if she would compose something for us. She began immediately, refreshing my memory that a Haiku is a short, three-line poem with a 5 7 5 syllable pattern, usually with nature as the theme. Here's the beautiful piece she wrote:
Chilly breeze blows by
Quiet whisper in the air
Sun begins to set
My grandson's homework was to compose a poem rhyming the 3rd and 5th lines of each stanza. He too is allowing me to share it with you:
I've been known to
Study minerals
Look at a rock
Know how to code
Watch the clock
I've been known to
Play Minecraft
Use tools
Climb trees
Swim in pools
I've been known to
Play in my fort
See what I find
Crack open rocks
Search through my mind
I'm impressed. At the same time as I'm biased by my love for these new authors, I admire their enthusiasm for writing, and the simple elegance of their words. They asked me to include a poem I wrote:
the moon is only half tonight
like time unfilled with you
vast velvet is the darkened sky
as cloudy veils
yield gently
where stars push through
to wink at me
and mock my yearning
to reach out
and feel you near
silently a star swings low
and wistfully
the sighs locked in my heart
breathe free
to push the length of night away
Writing - whether haiku, poetry, blog, email, or comment - is a way to connect, to narrow any distance that may seem to separate us. As Nikki Giovanni says, in our own way, each of us communicates that life is precious.