Poetry & Parrots
Banner illustration photo reference: hotblack
When X=Saving the World,
Y≠Unrelenting Existential Grief
Hmm. Poetry. Is this a love it or hate it subject for most people? Is there anyone who feels neutral about poetry?
In some ways it feels like math—if you aren’t familiar with the proper equations, you’ll be hopelessly lost trying to decide if y is that angle over here or this point to that point, and you’ll guess at what the hell x is because that’s better than leaving it blank, but it’s going to haunt you forever. (P.S. If this feels like a juvenile and possibly terrible comparison to you, you win the prize! The last time I took a math class was 8th grade and I only got through Algebra due to Mrs. Ward’s phenomenal after-school help. Four years later I kicked butt on the ACT, but the SAT turned around and kicked mine. Sorry Mrs. Ward.)
Anyway, back to poetry. My track record in poetry is about as great as in math. I had to take a poetry class for my English degree, and once again relied on the grace of a benevolent teacher/professor. I could not get the proper syllable count for the life of me. My theory is that English is secretly my second language, and I forgot my first one. I’m probably an alien from outer space that crash-landed in my parents’ ravine, which is why my dad likes to recall the irritants and embarrassments of my birth and childhood so often—he’s just making sure the “facts” are clear in case the mad scientists and alien bounty hunters are listening in. “Nothing to see here, just a normal, pain-in-the-butt child.” (Thanks, Dad.)
But that’s not to say that I don’t like poetry. I still struggle with the abstraction of some poetry, but I enjoy it a lot when there’s a sensory or emotional door into the poem. The nature poems of You Are Here seemed like a great fit. Unfortunately I was inspired by Ada Limón’s introduction but less so by the actual poems. I expected uplifting insights, which was the wrong mindset. The timing of the call for these poems couldn’t have helped—between covid and climate change and politics, things are pretty rough. But we’re clearly not getting out of this by hammering people with everything we’ve lost/are losing/will lose. If that worked, things would be fixed by now. I had a similar struggle with the beautifully illustrated Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl, which I didn’t finish. I think maybe it’s because I know if I wallow in it too much, I might stop fighting for anything. I don’t want to live like that. Instead I want to celebrate the amazing world we still have and that we can still save, even if it’s an uphill battle, even if the path gets steeper.
Did you have a favorite poem from You Are Here? What’s your take on the collection?
Doodle reenactment of every time I pass by the backyard
Treasure Troves of Words
One delight of reading poetry is coming across words you’ve forgotten or that might be new to you. In the book Spellbinding Sentences, Barbara Baig encourages writers to gather a “word hoard.” A good word can be savored. A good word used in a surprising way (as poetry can do so well) feels like a four-course meal. Here are a few of my favorites from You Are Here:
Crenellations
Keloid
Herdless
Yearning
Troubling (used as verb, “to trouble” something)
Undergrowth
Glint
Unrhymed
Jubilation
Steadfast
Did you come across any words you particularly enjoyed, either in these poems or elsewhere recently?
Flexing the Muscle of Imagination
Poetry can also force your imagination to work a little harder or set an example for thinking in different ways. I love this about silent animated shorts too. I had all this mind when working through a prompt for Beth Kempton’s Way of the Fearless Writer last Sunday while I sat in Leopold’s:
I am in Leopold's Books Bar Caffè at a table in front of one of the large circular mirrors. Reflected in the wood-framed mirror are the myriad greens of the hanging ivys beneath the sun-streaming skylight. The softly curling leaves and the play of light and shadow look like a waterfall in the pause between breaths. As I watch in the mirror, the leaves tumble against the bar and the vines grow wild. They slide into the jungle-print wallpaper, and the painted parrots sneak out their beaks and toes until they can tug their wings free to fly over the heart-patterned lattes and rich brown coffees and spring-green matchas lining the tables. The door—cracked open to the warming air—is in sight, but they've always been curious about the bookcases. They would read over anyone's shoulder who sat beneath their wall, but no one asked them what books they liked. As they hover over the shelves, wondering at every title and exposed cover, a cloud darkens the skylight and the ivy retreats. The parrots are a whirlwind of confused motion as they forget the door and stream toward the grayed pane of the skylight, hoping for a final ray of life-giving sun. Before they can reach the glass they flutter into folded paper, no longer pinned to the wall and yet not free, their autonomy revoked. The paper birds fall to the bartop and tables. No one else notices this turn of events. The readers read. The baristas steep and froth. The friends chat. A man reaches for his bookmark and finds a parrot instead. He shrugs. This place always gives out free postcards for bookmarks, so this must be something like that. Maybe the baristas get bored during the lulls and a little origami keeps them busy. He finishes his coffee with a slurp. The parrot, settled between the pages of his book, is carried out the door.
Where does your imagination take you during a moment of quiet? What do you see?
Because Lucas was so tuckered out from the week that he needed a 45-min nap in our parked car, we stumbled upon the Milwaukee Kite Fest and a stunt kite show last weekend—we thought we were behind with our day, turns out we were right on time :)
June’s Book
An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong awaits us in June. I already started reading it and can’t wait to read more. What I learned so far: it’s nice for your dog to let him or her sniff at leisure. Why? Come read the book with me to find out!
