Poet, philosopher, and artist, Kahil Gibran was born in Lebanon, though he made the United States his home for the last twenty years of his life. He has been highly read in both Arab speaking countries and the United States.
I came upon two quotes from him which I feel say so much about poets and their craft.
"A poet is a bird of unearthly excellence, who escapes from his celestial realm arrives in this world warbling. If we do not cherish him, he spreads his wings and flies back into his homeland."
It is true that I sometimes read the work of this poet or that and feel quite as though they are from some other, perhaps celestial realm. However, I'm sorry to say that I believe people as a whole do not often cherish them or their works. I suspect a lot of them must be making their way back home.
The second quote I absolutely love. "All our words are but crumbs that fall down from the feast of the mind." Yes! Our words are but a tiny fraction of all that goes on upstairs and yet in many respects, that is all we have to go one when assessing one another. It makes me realize how important each word is because put together with others they represent the visible sum of all our thoughts.
Tags: Poetry poets Writing words
Friday, May 12, 2006
Thursday, May 11, 2006
What Is Your Phone Company Up To?
If you us one of these phone services:
AT&T Inc., BellSouth Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc.
You should know that they have been voluntarily handing over the phone calling record of tens of millions of customers to the government as part of Bush's post 9-11 surveillance of phone calls. [source 1] [source 2] [source 3]
You should also know that President Bush's nominee for CIA director, Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, was head of the NSA from 1999 to 2005, would have overseen the call-tracking program. [source]
This information has been collected with out probable cause, without warrant, and represents an illegal intrusion into the lives of private citizen.
I am calling my Senators and asking them to oppose Michael Hayden's nomination and to fully investigate this activity Bush has authorized. I suggest others do the same.
Birthplace of poetry and voice
"
I grew up in this town, my poetry was born between the hill and the river, it took its voice from the rain, and like the timber, it steeped itself in the forests. " ~ Pablo Neruda
Where was my poetry born and from where did my voice originate? This is something I have not really openly explored. I don't believe the answer is an easy one to either question. I could easily dodge it, or dismiss it with a simple answer that fails to do the question justice. Still, I think Neruda asks that which every poet ought to consider within their own personal context.
As to the birth place of my poetry, I have lived my whole life in the same state. Most of it in an urban setting. I suppose that I could argue that my poetry was born in at the shadow of a downtown city that has over the years been in decay. Declining in prominence. I big city, with big city problem, but one in which the migration of it's citizens has been away from, at least until recently.
I have traveled to other cities and states, but this has been my home since a very small child. I have moved within the last few years to a more suburban setting, but one that is not far from all the commercial amenities you normally have being in a big city.
My poetry voice has come from several places. I don't really write so much of regional "place" - for example, Kansas City is known as the city of fountains. I don't recall ever going there with a poem. Nor poetry about the Oregon and Santa Fe trails. Rarely have I mentioned the might Missouri river which has a bend here in the KC area.
What I have found is that my poetry often has been a voice of despair like the urban core. The violence of war perhaps has come from the inner-city violence that never seemed very far away. Hopelessness and despair have often been a part of my work and that perhaps has had some origin in my job with deals daily with mental illness. My voice perhaps also has been drawn from my own personal life, growing up was not easy and although in many respects I had it so much better than some, it was at times painful none the less.
There is an under current of relationship impact upon my writing. Some of it from my family of origin. And I see and feel a tug of influence in relationship poems that are rooted in nearly 32 year of marriage. Love poetry is not something that comes easy for me. There is the ever present fear of writing stuff that is too sappy. But when I can, I do enjoy capturing that moment that says something about love.
The 32 years of marriage have not been without their share of problems and downhill runs, but they are in fact the most significant aspect of my life and for all the mistakes I have made along the way, it is in that relationship with my wife that I have the greatest value of life at all.
I do so often write from a dark perspective. Death is not particularly a fascination with me as perhaps it is of some, but rather a fact of our being and it is at the opposite end of the spectrum of life, I suppose that contrast and the desire to live as opposed to die that pulls me to the subject. It is something I cannot ignore.
So there you are. My poetry was born in a city that knows adversity. Gleaned its voice from everyday trials, from a fight for survival and a search for hope, all the while recognizing the pain and suffering of street people, victims of drive-by shootings, families that try to cling together in these difficult times and that one thing that is so precious that money cannot buy.
I grew up in this town, my poetry was born between the hill and the river, it took its voice from the rain, and like the timber, it steeped itself in the forests. " ~ Pablo NerudaWhere was my poetry born and from where did my voice originate? This is something I have not really openly explored. I don't believe the answer is an easy one to either question. I could easily dodge it, or dismiss it with a simple answer that fails to do the question justice. Still, I think Neruda asks that which every poet ought to consider within their own personal context.
As to the birth place of my poetry, I have lived my whole life in the same state. Most of it in an urban setting. I suppose that I could argue that my poetry was born in at the shadow of a downtown city that has over the years been in decay. Declining in prominence. I big city, with big city problem, but one in which the migration of it's citizens has been away from, at least until recently.
I have traveled to other cities and states, but this has been my home since a very small child. I have moved within the last few years to a more suburban setting, but one that is not far from all the commercial amenities you normally have being in a big city.
My poetry voice has come from several places. I don't really write so much of regional "place" - for example, Kansas City is known as the city of fountains. I don't recall ever going there with a poem. Nor poetry about the Oregon and Santa Fe trails. Rarely have I mentioned the might Missouri river which has a bend here in the KC area.
What I have found is that my poetry often has been a voice of despair like the urban core. The violence of war perhaps has come from the inner-city violence that never seemed very far away. Hopelessness and despair have often been a part of my work and that perhaps has had some origin in my job with deals daily with mental illness. My voice perhaps also has been drawn from my own personal life, growing up was not easy and although in many respects I had it so much better than some, it was at times painful none the less.
There is an under current of relationship impact upon my writing. Some of it from my family of origin. And I see and feel a tug of influence in relationship poems that are rooted in nearly 32 year of marriage. Love poetry is not something that comes easy for me. There is the ever present fear of writing stuff that is too sappy. But when I can, I do enjoy capturing that moment that says something about love.
The 32 years of marriage have not been without their share of problems and downhill runs, but they are in fact the most significant aspect of my life and for all the mistakes I have made along the way, it is in that relationship with my wife that I have the greatest value of life at all.
I do so often write from a dark perspective. Death is not particularly a fascination with me as perhaps it is of some, but rather a fact of our being and it is at the opposite end of the spectrum of life, I suppose that contrast and the desire to live as opposed to die that pulls me to the subject. It is something I cannot ignore.
So there you are. My poetry was born in a city that knows adversity. Gleaned its voice from everyday trials, from a fight for survival and a search for hope, all the while recognizing the pain and suffering of street people, victims of drive-by shootings, families that try to cling together in these difficult times and that one thing that is so precious that money cannot buy.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Non-Verbal Skills
My hand,
a secret decoder
felt her silent message
up and down the length
of her body, and
in translation, found
we were saying the same thing.Tag: poem
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Mysterious fatigue illness that is costly to Britain - Health - Times Online
Mysterious fatigue illness that is costly to Britain - Health - Times Online
Related Poem in this story is written by Frieda Hughes, daughter of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.
tags: Health and wellness Poetry Frieda Hughes
Related Poem in this story is written by Frieda Hughes, daughter of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.
tags: Health and wellness Poetry Frieda Hughes
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Sunday Sampler
My fantasy baseball team is 15-14-1, in 5th place out of 12 teams. This is truly fantasy because there are no ties in baseball, oh, except in certain all-star games. Thank you Mr. Selig.
Another poet / blogger site to check out - Sarah at Poetry for a Hostile World. [here]
Thanks to Jilly I found this interesting story on high school censorship of poetry.
Another poet / blogger site to check out - Sarah at Poetry for a Hostile World. [here]
Thanks to Jilly I found this interesting story on high school censorship of poetry.
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