poetry is, and is, and is
a few poems, read aloud (National Poetry Month)
Hello hello,
I’m so delighted friends, because it’s National Poetry Month. This is a time after my own heart.
Poetry is my lifeblood. It is the foundation of everything. Every thing. Everything.
I have no rhythm
we have no rhythm
no heart beat
no beauty
no love
without poetry
So, in honor of this time I love so much, I’ve delved into old words but timeless rhythms I’ve shared on this very site before. These words are special to me because they come from my third-ever post here on Substack—from three years ago!
I didn’t read poetry out loud as much then. Almost blasphemous to think of that now. Now, that I have affirmed how vital it is for me to read poetry out for the world to hear, even the trees. I shared a poem in my memoir Pansy called ‘How to read poetry’ that simply says:
How to Read Poetry
It’s always best to speak the truth
out loud
This is my ministry. There is simply no other way. So, in honor of this truth I don’t see no other way to do it. Here is my poem from years ago, called
This Is Meditation…
They say time don’t matter
when every song
has rhythm
and you better have a reason for clapping off
beat
and once we were babies
and now we’re grown
and once I made a joke
and no one laughed
and everyone dies
don’t tell me
this moment isn’t everything
Do you ever just feel words so much that all you can do is write them out? Reflexive, almost. Like breathing? That is how this poem came to be, and it lives in me and I think of it every now and then, like I think of time.
Much love to you all. This was a short one. Not gonna burden y’all with words, words, words in a poetry post, where the most powerful of them all seem to do the most with the least. I’ll leave you with a wish for love and care and good times. As many and as much as you can get. And poetry. Good, good, poetry.
I’ll see you all soon,
Jasper
p.s.: Here’s another one of my poems, read aloud:
And my entire collection of Substack writing:
