Life Can Be Like an Ear of Corn
Poems have always been a part of our lives. I started writing poems when I was quite young. In my middle school years, I wrote a lot about death and dying-I guess those are the years it all starts to hit you. My father- one of my biggest fans and my leading critic- used to call my collection – “More Morbid Poems by Nancy.” They were a great force in dealing with teenage angst and questions of mortality.
I imagine many of us must remember memorizing poems to recite in English class-“Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening”, “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”, “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow”-it used to seem like a lesson in futility, the fear of standing before the class and reciting some bit of antiquity. But how funny it is that these words creep back in when you least expect it, for instance when you’re testing a microphone or walking through the woods on a snowy evening. And like a prayer many have been shared through generations.
Poetry, might feel to some to be an ancient art but they have seeped back into my life with peace and great joy. There can be so much truth hidden in so few words - like a prayer or a song or a small bit of enlightenment. Songs too are poetry in motion. Who wasn’t captivated by Amanda Gorman’s poem, “The Hill We Climb” at the presidential inauguration? It wasn’t just the honesty in her words but the beauty and the conviction with which she delivered them. It felt as if you had an opportunity visit a bit of her soul.
Maybe it is that poetry eliminates extraneous words and leads us to the core of something wonderful. Poems help you to see how someone else perceives the world in a new way. Some make you laugh; others make you cry and others inspire and give you directions on how to live. One of my favorite poets is Mary Oliver and the simple beauty with which she experiences the natural world. She recently passed but she left behind the directions for life:
“Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.”
I imagine that we can transcend those middle school nightmares of stomach churning, palm sweating, ‘can I stay home from school today?’ public recitation, and revisit the beauty of poetry in our lives. It might be fun to find your favorite poems to cut and paste and create your own collection-your own “Instructions for living a life” poetry anthology.
Life can be like an ear of corn- wholesome and delicious but perhaps even more delicious when grilled with a little butter and salt. Really living might be taking the time to light the grill, find that butter and the salt-instead of just tossing the ears into a pot of boiling water - adding what you might need to make life a bit more amazing. In whatever you are doing-enhancing life by adding some spice, reviving life’s Kodachrome, and enjoying the simple yet exquisite. And maybe, just maybe poetry can help us do just that.