"We are all wanderers on this earth...our hearts are full of wonder, and our souls are deep with dreams." ~ Gypsy proverb

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The wind is wild



So, a good friend of mine suggested that I don't write poetry on the blog.

His opinion is that poetry is a difficult thing to connect with, extremely subjective and ambiguous. Meaning, I may know what the hell I am writing about, but others may not (like studying poetry in 9th grade). The other thought, my poetry just sucks and no one gets it.

I do see his point in some ways. Whenever I post poetry, it receives the least amount of comments compared to anything else I post. The real question is though, do I give a crap? I don't, not one bit.

Don't get me wrong, I love posting things readers respond to. But I think if we have been blogging long enough, we get better at not measuring success or joy by the amount of comments received. If I did, I would have quit a long time ago, hehe. Receiving and giving comments carries a meaning all its own, a meaning filled with honest gratitude, kindness, and connection. I have learned that the better I get at separating ego from giving or receiving comments, the more honest and authentic I feel.

So back to the poetry. I am also learning that to truly commit to being creative, you cannot give two shits about rejection, failure, approval, or any form of external validation. Harder said than done, I know. I can say with self-proclaimed expertise, praise can be an insidious poison that creates addicts if we don't remember our intentions. So if and when a kindness does arrive, humility and gratitude overcomes ego and ambition. I may not be a natural poet, and I may not be particularly good at prose either, but I lose myself in the beauty of words. Anyone that spends time listening for the heartbeat a collection of words can muster, is reeled in helplessly and willingly by the daydream and romance the rhythm spins. This is what I love, this is what I seek.

So, here I am helpless and willing, tossing my words out into the world with no agenda, only for the joy of it :). That's just what bloggers and writers do :).

I wrote this last night as the winds around Boulder shook things up a little...(btw, if you couldn't tell, I love alliteration :).

A walk in the moonlight
is a wish that won't be made tonight.

The wind--
wild, whooshing and whirling,
crashes against the window,
waving woody branches as if
wanting them to grow wings and fly.

I wait for the whistling--
or the howling,
but the gusts want to
wax and wane instead.

Without worry, I feel warm
and safe within my house
as a whirlwind of leaves
scatter across the streets,
wandering far away from where they once began.



xoxo

Happy Wednesday



30 comments:

  1. One of the many things I love about blogging and reading blogs is the rawness of the writings and/or images. To me, a piece that is creatively and thoughtfully composed leaves the reader wondering, and is most always personal - sometimes deeply personal. Poetry can be so beautiful and mysterious that way. I say share away!

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  2. You got it MJ - write what you want to write and feel good about writing. For myself the blog is an album for our family and friends. I write what I want to remember later in life. I see the comments as little extra treats!!! I am always happy to see a new post of yours pop up. Sometimes you have said it so well it is hard to comment.
    Enjoy the blustery weather in Boulder.
    Chey xo

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    1. They are treats, and I love every one of them!! Thanks Chey!
      xo

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  3. Stay true to yourself! I agree with chey that comments are extra treats :) I like visiting and reading what you post. My blog is a window of what I want the world to see :)

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    1. Love that last line, I'm LOVING all the alliteration here!! Thanks Karen,
      xo

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  4. write for yourself, your well being, your heart. it's about you and expressing yourself not comments and i know that you know that. your joy and passion shine through.

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    1. Yes!!! How much better we become at blogging when this happens :). Thanks so much Amanda :).
      xo

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  5. sure, poetry can be hard to understand sometimes, connect with. but, what if you stirred something up in just one person, touched them so deeply? if I know you, that one connection is worth so much more than receiving many comments. so, don't hold back your beautiful words. they are you, your truth. if you can't be yourself on your blog, than what is the point of blogging?

    I loved your poem. as I sit here at my desk, looking out the window, watching the wind instruct the skeleton trees to their own powerful dance, I'm thankful I'm inside my own warm home. :) keep sharing, please!

    xo

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  6. lol @ the double-yous

    don't share poetry??? so, we shouldn't share abstract/expressionist art either? or anything subjective and open to interpretation?
    we probably shouldn't even blog, because i tell ya, people have a weird way of seeing through their own eyes.

    phht

    personally, i tend to close comments on poetry. mostly because the piece is very personal and the comments tend to be high praise (which i'm sceptical about and not requesting anyway) and it can make me cringe. i just want to express myself. so just blogging it is enough.

    i actually try not to comment on how 'good' a piece is, because that's so uninterestingly subjective. i want to know what about my work triggers something in someone.

    and as an artist/writer/etc i find that a piece's supposed worth very low on the artist-needs scale. you know?
    if you feel let down by not enough praise, then the work was secondary anyway.

    i believe you write because it's within you. often i feel compelled to point out a beautiful/poignant phrase because i'm a word lover. but i connect to the expressing, the vulnerability of the writer first.

    i like how you juxtaposed and connected the wildness outside with the warmth of indoors. see, w words ;D

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    1. I've noticed that you close comments on your poetry, especially because I always want to comment on them lol...

      I wish I remember where I read this, but I had read that we cannot possess what we create, that creations (whether writing, painting, whatever) are as free as the moment they were created in, and meant to bless and brighten the paths they cross next. Creatives are conduits to connection, and the creation is the language. :). I like that...

      xo

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  7. I am glad you post your poetry MJ, it shows another side of you, something personnel and real. There is a reason I love coming here to visit you my dear friend, your words touch me. :)
    As far as comments go, I have debated about turning mine off, but then would miss everyone you know? On days when everyone around here is gone, the blog world is my only connection to people and it can get pretty lonely here.

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  8. Keep writing poetry....!!!! Namaste....

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  9. Whenever I write about certain things, I never get many comments. My music career, for instance.
    Fuck 'em.

    XO
    C

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  10. I have been writing poems and posting it in my blog for years now. I don't even care is no one reads them or no one responds to them. It's my poem, it's my blog and I'm not writing for them. I'm writing for myself so that in the future, when I look back, I know how life was through the poems I have written. Not all people will do that for me. If they respond though, I'm thankful for it. That means the experience I had was the same for them, which is awesome. :)

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  11. I realize the whole point here is that whether or not others want to read poetry on your blog is of no consequence, but I'll say that I do love
    when you post poems all the same? I rarely comment on poetry because it tends to provoke thought more so than discussion, but it's no less valuable. It's an honor to be an observer on your creative journey. So there.

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  12. This is your space, write what you want, when you want and how you want. Let your true self shine through.

    And for the record I enjoy reading your poetry.

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  13. yes yes please write the poetry...and if you love to read it check this out....
    http://twomakingheartsongs.blogspot.ca/
    a sister and I just starting posting poetry calling back and forth to one another....
    so fun

    love and light

    ps could you email you postal address MJ?
    catscorner@telus.net...thanks

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    1. It's a beautiful collection Cat, I love it...
      xo

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  14. Yes, I agree, the joy is in the sharing. Some words will resonate...some will not, but it's the "putting it out there" that's the important part :)

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  15. i love your spunk. i want you to run out of that poet house and into the wind with it)))

    one of my favorite quotes by gerard manley hopkins: "What I do is me: for that I came."

    As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
    As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
    Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
    Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
    Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
    Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
    Selves - goes itself, myself it speaks and spells,
    Crying What I do is me: for that I came."

    I say more, the just man justices;
    Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
    Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is -
    Christ - for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
    Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
    To the Father through the features of men's faces.

    xo
    erin

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  16. awestruck....thank you Erin
    xo

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  17. bullshit. keep sharing whatever you want. I have to agree with everything you said. this is for you and no one else. and yes, it's a learning curve, and yes, it's not nice that the things that matter most to you or that you put the most work into receive the least attention. but as you said, that's not what creativity should be about. we are not a bunch of cast singers for a girl band doing anything we're asked for to get a bit of fame.

    keeping your ego out is important and a daily struggle. but you seem to be doing fine :)

    re: poetry in particular. I often don't comment on poetry either. and not because I don't like it or don't get. the more I get it the less likely I am to comment. to me it's a little like not eating in a church or temple. it's respect. poetry is one of the most personal ways to express yourself. and I wouldn't want to taint this with my blubbering. maybe others feel the same?

    poetry also works over time. you don't necessarily read it and react right away. it often stays with you. it's what I love about it.

    see, blubbering and rambling :)

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  18. Like Petra, I feel poetry is so personal not only for the poet but for the reader, that sometimes comments take away from the experience. Plus most of the time I am awestruck and find my self without words.

    Your words have always been relevant to me. Every visit to your space is like hearing the perfect song at the right time. Serendipitous. I am grateful for your courage to throw your words to the wind. xo

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  19. I like you words... :) and you never know which little thing that you say or do will inspire another. Carry on carry on and throw caution to the wind xx

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  20. Well I for one love poetry! So good for you! Share in your space however you feel called and those that are meant to see it and connect to it will

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  21. cheers to you and your poetry...your losing yourself in the beauty of words...your truth.
    xo

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  22. Beautifully said MJ!

    And I oh so agree that we must write and share first for ourselves, and then benefit from the authentic connections that come from our being who we each are uniquely.

    I so enjoy your poetry, but don't always comment, because sometimes a poem is best letting it sit with you.

    Hugs,
    Claudine

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“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
~ George Bernard Shaw