Happy Valentine's Day

Of course, I remember valentine’s day in elementary school.  Where we each made a “mailbox” out of a decorated shoebox, and we all bought valentines from the drugstore – one for each member of our class – even the kids we didn’t much like.  The teacher had sent home a list of names and mothers made their kids carefully write the name on each envelope and sign their name on the card.  We came home and dumped them out to show our parents and our friends.  There was always a party that involved cupcakes and those little candy hearts with sayings on them.  I remember this much more clearly than I remember adult celebrations of this big day. 

I’m encouraging all of us to recreate the magic of this day this year.  Find some blank paper, get out your scissors and cut out a few hearts to glue onto your homemade card.  Let’s each send out 5 hand-made valentines this year to friends – just because.  Just because we all love to get snail mail, we all need to be reminded that we are special and because it will make us feel good too!  No harm in that!

Here's a prose poem I wrote for you;

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY

Love wears red tights, of course, and a long loose top so she can dance easily.  She rides a bicycle decorated with bells and flowers and carries chocolates in a big canvas bag which she hands out liberally.  Contrary to popular opinion, she does not own a bow and knows nothing of archery.  She also shares poems everywhere she goes. She’s a Quaker and loves silence but also is known to use curse words now and again when things don’t work out.     She doesn’t wear make-up.  She seems to cause people to fall, and she has unusual disguises.  She likes to sneak up on you.  Sometimes people mistake others for her.  She has imposters.  Watch out for them!  They usually seem too good to be true – and often are.  When she’s done her work, she leaves you alone to figure out the hard stuff.  Because she’s real, she does have some warts, scars and occasional bad breath.  You have to take the whole package.  She can break your heart – but that too can be a sort of gift sometimes.  She likes it if you prepare the way for her; sweep the path,  expect her to arrive.  Be home.  And, if she came into your life long ago and you’ve begun to take her for granted – dust her off – buy her some flowers – ask her to dance.

How to read Poetry

I always have a book of poetry by my chair which I read through slowly – one page a day.  I have read through my collection of poetry books several times.  But I recently came across an article by the poet Padraig O'Tuama which has given me even more information about how to approach poetry.  The author suggested that before beginning to read the poems, you behold the book itself.  Look at the cover.  Be curious about the image or words there.  Read through all the “blurbs” and notice who has commented on this book.  Read the jacket liner to get an overview of what the book includes.  Read the “foreword” or “Introduction”.  (I admit to skipping all this most times in the past and jumping straight to the poems).  It does have very useful information about the poet and the situation they are writing in – or about the translator etc.  It often gives the reader a sense of how the book was put together.  Then look at the table of contents.  Notice if there are different sections and get curious about why and how they are arranged.  Look at the back of the book to see if there is an “appendix” which often gives very useful information about some of the poems.  I have often discovered that AFTER reading the poems.  If there is an appendix, it is helpful to look at it while you are reading the poems!! 

After you’ve done all this, you have permission to begin the slow read of the poems! 

So, just today I am starting a reread of the polish poet,  Wislawa Szymbortska’s “Miracle Fair”.  I’ve read the book a couple of times before, but never have I taken the time to do all this pre-reading.  I found an amazing amount of information that I imagine will help me appreciate the poems even more!!  Here is the last poem in her book;

SOME LIKE POETRY

            By Wislawa Szymborska

Some –

not all, that is.

Not even the majority of all, but the minority.

Not counting school, where one must,

or the poets themselves,

There’d be maybe two such people in a thousand.

Like –

but one also likes chicken-noodle soup,

one likes compliments and the color blue,

one likes an old scarf,

one likes to prove one’s point,

one likes to pet a dog.

Poetry –

but what sort of thing is poetry?

Many a shaky answer

has been given to this question.

But I do not know and do not know and hold on to it,

as to a saving bannister.

RITUALS

I am enamored of rituals and enjoy creating them with my friends.  I often do one for the summer and winter solstices and sometimes for Samhain (November first) and for Beltane (May day).  You can do them at the obvious holiday times but also you can honor your own reason for wanting a ritual.  I had a friend who always invited people over for the first time she lit her fireplace each Fall.  I’ve known people who have created rituals for the ending of a relationship, or for completing a degree, for completing a course of chemo treatment.   I love the idea of creating spaces in our lives that might be made just a bit more sacred by creating a ritual to surround them.  Rituals can be elaborate or very simple.  They can involve lots of people, a few people or just yourself. 

I recently attended a free short webinar with the amazing author Day Schildkret who has written a lot about creating rituals and beautiful earth altars.  He suggested this very simple ritual for beginning and ending each day;

Each evening before going to bed – wash your hands three times.  Turn water on and off.  Each time, identify one thing you want to let go of before you go to bed

Each morning, again wash your hands three times and identify three things you are ready to receive in the coming day. 

If you want to know more about Schildkret’s work with ritual and his amazing “morning altars”, click HERE.