"...there is an expanse opening about you. And when your nearness becomes distant, then you have already expanded far: to being among the stars. Your horizon has widened greatly. Rejoice in your growth. No one can join you in that."
"Believe, however, in a love that will be safely kept for you as a legacy and a trust, and trust that in it there is a power and a blessing."
(from Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke)
So, I'm current reading Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet. Or, I'm trying not to read it. I'm trying to savor the experience and draw it out as long as I can. The letters (there are ten) are brief, but their language and imagery are eloquent, succinct, and as delicious to me as a fine meal would be to a gourmand.
I bought my first collection of Rilke's poetry in the spring and enjoyed so much of it. There's a lot going on there but knowing the context of the poetry only serves to enrich the words themselves.
I have said that if I were granted three wishes, one of my wishes would be to become synaesthetic--to have senses mingled together, enhanced by music, art, feeling, or emotion. I envy those artists, musicians, and others who are blessed with such an enrichment of creation. However, when I read good poetry, I think that's the closest I come to feeling like a synesthete. I can feel the texture of the words, the weight of phrases, the roll and gravity of syllables, the shape of the emotions elicited by the poet. I have a sense of immersion, and it's extremely fulfilling.
What are some of your favorite poets or poems?
I honestly don't read much poetry. I can appriciate it for some of the reasons you list. I think it's the appreciation of language and the ability to paint with it that make for a good poem. It's the showing pulled apart from the telling of prose. My favorite poem is Robert Frost's Birches...i know i know, pretty obvious for someone who listens to a lot of hipster music. I just feel like Frost knew, really knew about life in the ideal.
ReplyDelete