I attempt to craft things in many forms – musical, graphic, long form writing and poetry. But just as the immediacy time-rootedness and dynamics of music make it the most directly impactful emotionally, poetry reacts to the outside world in extremely interesting ways over a longer timescale.
The better a poem you managed to stumble into initially, the more curious encrustations the world will find to grow on it over time.
I wrote this one long before covid was a thing. It was really just about noticing that all of my friends were brave-facing new limits, and recalculating arcs of intention as a result. Self forgiveness can be so hard, especially in a competitive and driven society like ours, but we all need to work on it.
Money is important – but we all know the meaning of life ain’t that!
That’s not even our greatest struggle (difficult though it be, to be sure).
Strangest of all? We each feel private shame about this, our most-shared reality.
The way the world has turned has added a lot to this poem, which felt like it had some fair heft already without that. For those who love to hold poems in their hand in paper book form (as do I) this will be part of my second poetry collection, which has yet to be assembled, let far alone published.
My writer head wants to say – very soon! But my responsible publisher head reminds me I have two new books to release first, and ebook editions of five.
So let’s say ‘on the back-burner’ for just now. But definitely in the cue! ;o)
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
