I rarely edit my poetry.
I don’t remember why I got into this practice.
It probably has to do with my love of improvisation.
Life is like that.
We have to make it up as we go.
Otherwise, it could seem to be too twisty.
I like predictability and I like surprise.
Well, I’m not so crazy about surprises
When they’re on me and they take
The rug out from under me.
Those I could do without.
And they come along anyway.
Might as well roll with them
At least as well as I do
With the good stuff.
Spontaneity makes life easier.
Set a few agreements at the outset about
Being in agreement with each other
And off we go.
So, here we are
Thinking that the events of our lives
Are so crushing
And a friend who had been told
She was in remission
Rushes in
To tell us that her cancer count
Is rising every day.
Plan, but don’t plan too much.
Anticipate now more than tomorrow.
Now could well be all there is.
~ by Stan Stewart
Copyright © 2010 by muz4now, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Touching tribute to a friend and her struggles, put in delicate and wise words, Stan. My very best to her.
In Brazil, there used to live a poet who’d say, you’ve got to write it a million times, so to look as if you’ve written it in the spare of the moment. He was not referring to over preparation, of course, but merely revealing the inner works that every artist goes through, refining what’s raw and brute into something that others can relate to. Without sounding too professoral, the point on spontaneity is well taken, as it’s often the only way to completely experience the world arounds us, without prejudice or ill preconceptions. But in the same token, we may need to be vigilant about what comes out of our hearts, lest not every bit of our natural self-indulgence taint the original touch of the divine that inspired us to express it in the first place. Cheers
Well said, Wesley! Even now as I read my own poem, I am moved to tears at the memory.
Ironically (or not), what you mentioned is exactly why I/we “rehearse” improvisation: so that it will not be done from the precious or incomprehensible framework.
Thanks as always for stopping by.