If ever there were a set of holy books, for me it would be my poetry collection. I have several books that I can blindly open up and read a passage that will have meaning. Poems I have by heart serve as prayers for me. The act of writing, even bad poems, opens me to an appreciation of the world.
In her book, SAVED BY A POEM, author Kim Rosen says; “Poetry is the commitment of the soul…. We know intuitively that the soul has to do with genuineness and depth…. From below the surface of your life the truth of who you are calls to you through the poems you love. What happens when you merge the power of the word with the language of the soul? The simple and powerful act of creating a deep relationship with a poem you love can change your life.”
So, I invite you to consider some sort of commitment in the coming month to feeding your soul with poetry. Perhaps you’ll just open a book you already own – randomly each morning – read one poem. Let it seep into you throughout the day. Use it as a tarot card! Or perhaps, you’ll copy out some favorite poems as my friends Janice and Laura do and hand them out to people each day during April. Spread the love! Or, maybe you’ll go on to the next step of writing a tiny poem each day. Maybe a 15-syllable haiku, or even a one-line poem. I am going to try to write a small poem each morning during April and work my way through the alphabet. The first word of the first poem will have to start with A. The first word of the poem on April second, will have to start with B etc. I am doing this both for the challenge of it and for the joy, for the expansion of myself and for the affirmation.
Do spend some time in your own holy books of poetry this month!
Here is a poem about poetry and its power.
ETERNITY
~by Jason Shinder
A poem written three thousand years ago
about a man who walks among horses
grazing on a hill under the small stars
comes to life on a page in a book
and the woman reading the poem
in her kitchen filled with a gold metallic light
finds the experience of living in that moment
so vividly described as to make her feel known
to another, until the woman and the poet share
not only their souls but the exact silence
between each word. And every time the poem is read,
no matter her situation or her age,
this is more or less what happens.