Loose Leaf Notes

~ Poetry is the language of our time.  It is a verbal excavation, digging us into and under that which is in inarticulate, that which cannot be said but can be felt, that which cannot be stated but can be conjured.   Poetry is a form of revolution.  It rearranges our thinking, our perception out dialogue. It takes us out of the literal so that we can see what is real.

~ Before written language took words out of our mouths and onto the page, and long before “virtual” communication lifted them off the page and into intangible space, our ancestors knew that a poem, spoken aloud, could change us with its vital, voiced wisdom.

~ A poem is a physical event.  The rhythm may quicken or slow your pulse.  The flow of language may expand your breathing.  The music woven into the words may change the very texture of your voice. A poem even entrains your brainwaves, altering your biochemistry and allowing shifts in consciousness that can bring healing, understanding, and unexpected insight.

~ The truth is, we turn to poetry all the time without knowing it. The lyrics you played over and over after the break up – I will survive! As long as I know how to love I know I will stay alive – is poetry. The psalm you recite when you cannot take another step – Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death – is poetry. It is in the prayer you repeat as you pick up your partner’s socks one more time – God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change – and the pulse of the speech you’ll never forget: I have a dream! We are healed by the rhythm, we are harmonized by the sound, we are awakened by the passionate telling of truth.

~ Poetry is the language of this shift. It is a direct route to the riches of the interior life. It is available to everyone at any hour of the day or night, and it doesn’t cost a thing.

~ At this time in history, there is a paradoxical urgency to slowing down, focusing on what matters, looking into each other’s eyes and speaking the truth. Whether you read poetry, avoid it, or have never thought twice about it, find a poem you love today. Let it become your companion. Speak it aloud to yourself and to others. Your whole being will come into alignment. And wholeness is contagious. Others will catch it from you, and they too may taste a moment of peace in the maelstrom of these times.

From Saved by a Poem and Madoff and Miracles: How I Lost My Life’s Savings and a Poem Saved My Life by Kim Rosen Collage by Josh Copus. More of Josh’s collages can be seen HERE.