Last week I mused on poetry and journaling and meandered into the territory of how poetry can guide us, how writing poetry can help us to guide ourselves, maybe even help us to discover hidden meaning for our lives. Perhaps we even spent a little time considering the topic of success metrics.
Here are a few poems that I think sit somewhere around this topic.
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The Simple Truth by Phillip Levine. This isn’t the easiest image to see, so to read it online head here.
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“Open your eyes, Dream but don’t guess” - this is Yes, by Muriel Rukeyser, published in Houdini, 2002.
God’s List of Liquids, by Anne Carson.
I wasn’t entirely sure if this one fit the bill so I didn’t include it. But then I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Oh would you look, the list is in alphabetical order. And time is listed as a liquid. And why November? And what the hell does this all mean, it is so damn intriguing and so well written. So, of course, it ended up back in the mix. Make of that what you will.
At the risk of self-congratulation, I have enjoyed playing with this prompt a little more this week. The journaler in me scribbling down lists of ‘what good actually looks like’ in terms of my parenting, my commitment to caring for our planet, even my work day. Pieces of clarity arriving like rays of sunshine (finally). This is some of my favourite type of writing - not for publication, purely for myself. A not-guilty pleasure. The poet in me then colouring between the lines, lifting up sentences and insisting that I peer beneath, asking me to prove what I know about craft and form.
Ok, I am becoming overly effusive again.
Tell me how you got on this week, I’d love to know.
Nelly x
I have a few ideas to explore from my journalling.. life has been very busy this week so not explored as much as I would like but for now here is 'success metrics of a peri-menopausal woman'
Today I woke with no joint or muscle pain
I almost felt like I was in my own body again
My glasses were exactly were I left them
My memory returned like a gift from heaven
I remembered it all, key facts, names and nouns
I found myself with a brain that wasn't failing
And my mood was steady, my day was plain sailing
No anger, tears or anxiety
I felt in charge of my own destiny
It was all such a welcome change
At this stage of life
When nothing you used to know makes sense
And you wonder if it ever will again
I adore ‘Gods list of liquids’, so pleased you kept that in, Nelly. Here’s my offering. And now I have inspiration to go play more.
.
Success Metrics for the Chronically Ill
.
Peeling an orange
in one twisting twirling go
citrus essence on the air
.
Breathing the summer breeze
scented by roses and foxgloves
sunshine dappling the day
.
Kissing your delightful lips
smooth, soft, and luscious
drinking you in daily
.
Crisp warm toast dripping
in butter and local honey
tasting of heather and rain
.
The ache in my heart
when we are forced apart
sharp and desperate
.
The bliss in my heart
when we are reunited again
blooming, blossoming, bold.