i would love to be a poet
but i don't get poetry
as an art form
i don't know how to find more
depth
meaning
power
joy
sadness
or
emotion
through poetry
as opposed to prose
when i teach poetry from the bible
i teach it like i would teach prose
even though it’s not prose
words to me
mean what they mean
on a surface level
a word
is a word
is a word
is a word
except
of course
that words aren’t just words
words have meaning
inside of meaning
inside of meaning
when i read poetry
i never open up the nesting doll
and look for the meaning
inside of the meaning
i start and stop
at the surface
poetry is beautiful
i wish i read it more
i wish i appreciated it more
a friend told me recently
saying few words
means
having to defend them less
she told me
that for her
poetry
is an outlet
for using fewer words
i constantly feel
like i have to defend myself
against attacks
slander
disagreement
anger
i know
most of those things
aren't real
are solely in my head
but i believe them
i feel them
saying few words
means
having to defend them less
sounds like a
beautiful
freeing
joyful
way to live
so anyway here's a poem
this is me summing up
a very long post
from a couple years ago
in nine words
some might call this instapoetry,
others would probably call it s—ty poetry.
i call it
the best i can do
as a non-poet
who’s trying to poet
a heretic
to some
is a healer
to many
(If I had any art talent, i’d make some line drawings around that poem a la Rupi Kaur and make it cool and shareable)
Poet, poetry critic, and all-around brilliant person Rachel Oates made this shirt and it cracks me up.
I don't know if it's insensitive to a lot of poets.
But it makes me laugh.
I should probably buy it.
What I’m listening to:
Zealyn - Radio Evangelist
One of my favorite songs over the past two years. I’ve listened to it more times than I can count. This live version is even better than the original imo. Girl’s amazing.
She’s got a new song coming out tomorrow that’s apparently about how stifled she felt growing up as a preacher’s kid. Super excited to hear it.
I want your poem on a shirt!
You’re a poet. I need that shirt. Do you have a link??