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There are lines of poetry so powerful, so soul shaping that one must carry them in one's memory -- or at the very least post them on the corkboard in the kitchen; or tuck them into the little clips holding up the bathroom mirror so everyday the poet can console or confront you while you clean your morning-and-night teeth.
These poems are what I have come to think of of as "plainsight poetry," that is, verses which must be kept at easy access. The one I most need now is this:
Harlem [2]
What happens to a
dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like
rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
I have to have this close at hand or my own doubts and the naysaying voices of others will drown out the dreams I hold within. Often I need this poem as well, to keep the fear at bay:
Forget safety.
Live where you fear
to live.
Destroy your reputation.
Be notorious.
This week a handful of generous bloggers have offered us a peek into their notebooks and fridge-fronts to see what poetry is sustaining their souls. Within this collection you may find a new piece to prop you up, help you go deep, or give you some nourishment for the journey.
Tess Marshall at Anchors and Masts has given us this inspiring piece about the oft-submerged power of womanhood:
In her bottled up is a woman peppery as curry,
a yam of a woman of butter and brass,
compounded of acid and sweet like a pineapple,
like a handgrenade set to explode,
like goldenrod ready to bloom.
If that isn't enough of a soul-massage, you can also sink into the marvelous photography of Lili Viera de Carvalho that accompanies Tess's post. Or, follow the flow of inspiration from Marge to Tess to Lucy as she follows up with this visual post at Lucy Creates. (Don't you just love that blogging synergy?)
Sandy Carlson at Writing in Faith has kindly reviewed poet Mary Oliver's Thirst. Thirst was published in 2007, and is a collection of poetry written after the death of her life-partner. Oliver who has long inspired us to gratitude and hope with poems like this one, (reflected upon here by Jen Lemen), will surely be a wise guide into the great and terrible questions surrounding love, God, and grief.
Someone I loved once gave me a
box full of darkness.
It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift.from The Uses of Sorrow
by Mary Oliver
Finally in two slightly different takes on poetry-that-inspires, Bette at Surimono Garden has given us a combination of words-plus-video here, while Elizabeth Glass at The Couch gives us poetry set to music with lyrics from Over the Rhine. (You really should stop by their place and have a listen. They are a terrific duo.)
Do you have a favorite poem that feeds your spirit or soothes your soul? Let us know in the comments below. Namaste.
