Clarity From Children

Broccoli is on the short list of green veggies my son eats without smothering with some sort of sauce. I'd like to keep it that way.

In an effort to help him become one with broccoli, we are growing some. We periodically go in the back yard to check on its progress. The two plants, like the two of us, are braced against the cold. Side shoots have formed. He cut the center heads which made our first harvest official. He dropped them into a plastic bag then we hurried inside.

Anticipation of this agricultural event caused me to open the bag as soon as my coat was off. I brought it towards my nose. I was greeted by the two small florets as though they were trying to escape. They emitted a powerful, intoxicating essence. My son said they smelled green.

I knew our broccoli would not be enough for a meal so I bought some the day before. We opened this “fresh” package. My son said it smelled like air. To be clear, the air in our house did not and does not smell like broccoli.

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Later that evening my son read a poem of approximately twenty lines. Without hesitation he gave a very thorough explanation of the meaning he absorbed. He did so referencing points in the poem. He responded confidently to fleshing out questions. He's eleven and a sixth grader. It was an invigorating environment. We were as one with growing, breathing and learning. Clarity was in the air.

Related Links:

Another Dangerous Habit
Mother's Day Poem - Motherly
Pleasures Of Nature

Poetry is a Feeling

Part 3 of Understanding Poetry

When it comes to understanding poetry, feeling is an essential ingredient. Nathan's spiritual blog, Walls Come Down, “feels” us in with poetic words and insight:

II.

in the dark,
writhing with ecstasy
in light rain drops

This is a movement away from thought, to feeling. It is a move away from structures in which distractions are embedded. Both in writing and reading, we are peeling away what we are not. What's underneath? We need a willingness to see things directly, for what they are. It doesn't matter if you 'understand it' or not. It's more about what you feel.

For Matt

Why should we not
laugh
and grow
like leaves
on trees
in forests careening
roots through buds
to blooming
falling
loving
dancing
singing moving,
floating on
and through?

National Poetry Month 2009-Understanding Poetry

Approaching poetry in a hurry to understand it is the wrong approach. Understanding some poetry is like getting used to drinking grape/orange Kool-Aid with orange and apple slices. You know there's a lot going on but you enjoy it nonetheless by savoring the blend, moving it around in your mouth and drinking slower. You extend the pleasure by patiently waiting to enjoy the fruit. The process is the same for understanding poetry.

Approaching poetry hoping to merely understand what the writer was trying to say is the wrong approach. There are always numerous meanings in poetry regardless of what the author intended. An artist's intent should never be the boundary. I'm still hoping to understand more about some of the poems I've written.

Approaching poetry merely as an intellectual event limits understanding to what the mind has experienced. To receive additional understanding the spirit must become engaged. After the mind reads poetry you must release it to your spirit, otherwise inspiration and encouragement are not possible.

With that being said, poetry whispers something different to each person. Some poetry will urge you to take a step towards your own personal next level. Its purpose is to not leave you where it found you. There's really no cause to be intimidated when it comes to understanding poetry. Poetry is like a child seeking friends to get to know. Welcome it and soon enough you will learn that poetry understands you.