A Poetic Interlude

some poetry month link love

“writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm.”

Merriam-Webster's definition of poetry is kind of a mouthful, right?

Even though it isn’t an official definition, I’ve found these words from a recent read resonate a bit more clearly:

“Poetry is God’s invitation to glimpse the unseen.”

Last time I shared about how instead of an obstacle to overcome, weakness was actually an invitation. Poetry is also an invitation. With poetry, we’re invited to see things that are typically overlooked.

I think I’ll take a hint from April being National Poetry Month as an extension of and follow up to that invitation. For any poets or poetry enthusiasts (and anyone else in between), here is some poetic link love I’m sure you’ll enjoy:

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In case you find yourself in the “but I don’t like poetry” category, enjoy these words by

Tanner Olson

:

What do you say to someone who says they don’t like poetry?

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The shortest month of the year + the shortest genre of poetry = National Haiku Writing Month in February. I wrote one haiku a day for this year’s challenge and you can read one or all twenty-nine of them here.

my first haiku back in the day and the first one I shared for haiku month.

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“Poetry asks you to keep time and hold language and image together in the present.”

Yolande

shared these words along with a poem for the urgency of now.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

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Division,
it surrounds us.
Although, it feels more
like subtraction.
Taking, removing,
and diminishing who we are,
making us certain who others are
based on what "side"
they're on.

Lines drawn in the sand.
We're digging deep trenches.
Making sure those sides
are so very clearly marked off.

Grains of sand
mix with sweat,
whipped up in feverish fury as we dig.
Our sight becomes muddy.

Accusations fly.
Daggers trying to
pierce and shred.
Echo chambers overflowing
with talking points.
That's what we've become.
Lines drawn in the sand.

Hiding behind
our screens,
we launch our attack.
Sticks and stones and words all hurt.
Would we type
the same words
if we looked past the screen,
to the image-bearing soul
on the other side?

"You are the enemy!"
"No, you are!"
The frenzied push
towards fear and hate.
Now that "enemy"
is their name,
what's left to do is fight,
right?

Fear of the unknown
based on all
we think we know.
Things best suited for jars
are carelessly slapped on people.
Labels based on what others
have screamed at us to believe.
Add that to the mud in our eyes
and it's a wonder
we can even stand.

I hope in the day
when lines of division
are a thing of the past.
The tide will roll in
and wash them away.
Justice will roll down
like waters,
and righteousness
like an ever-flowing stream.

You've told us
what love is,
and how it never fails.
That is the line
we should learn
to dig deeply.

To love you and others,
the only side
I'll ever fight to be on.
Time to draw
some new lines in the sand.

(Lines Drawn in the Sand, a poem I originally wrote and published back in August of 2020.)

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A few more from the archives:

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Are you a poet or poetry enthusiast? What does poetry mean to you?

Until next time,

Becky