“Poetry is emptying without exhausting.” ~ Emilio Villa.

Poetry asks me to take myself away from myself, and then pour those images into words upon words into sentences upon sentences until a snapshot of my experience rolls across the page in ink.

Poetry and I have a long relationship (more steady than any other), and yet I am often humbled by the way poetry will sneak into my days and my nights, offering me a glimpse of beauty or a surprise in the ordinary.

She’s a constant, and I’ve been celebrating her in this National Month of Poetry, but not nearly enough. I’ve allowed myself to fall into a little “poet’s” block.

You see, I’ve been trying to get up the nerve to do this one little thing regarding poetry all month long.

But my palms sweat, my cheeks flush, and I write about everything besides this one thing.

And yet poetry is the salve my soul, hiding beneath my skin, reminding me to let go, and share my words in a different form. She encourages me to step away from the page, and into my voice. This leap is hard to do because I am a shy poet. I’d much rather be hiding behind my words than sharing them with my voice.

But it’s National Poetry Month, so listen…

poeticpause from Jessie Wright on Vimeo.

 

Author: Jessie Wright

Editor: Emily Bartran 

Photo: plaisanter/Flickr