As Long As There’s Poetry, We Endure
As we celebrate World Poetry Day this weekend, spelunking through the Bette archives for some inspiro
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I had the honor and pleasure of listening to author/actor Ben Crystal give a chat on how Shakespeare can change your life.
Word.
Among my majors back in the day, was Shakespeare — or some guy calling himself Shakespeare. I even earned an A+ on my thesis at UC Berkeley, which I dedicated to one of The Bard’s worst plays, Love’s Labour’s Lost. It was at Cal where I learned not to grade writers on an average, but on their best works.
So as we celebrate World Poetry Day this weekend, I thought I’d dredge up some of my poetry from these pages. I hope you share some of yours in the comments.
I am the mother of two brilliant writers, one, an award-winning poet laureate, the other with the soul of Poe.
Words remain the most powerful weapon we have in this invisible war.
Detonate them.
Below are some of my posts that contain poetry.
And here are a few of my favorites from this journey.
La Poubelle
I find art in piles of trash
Abandoned neatly on curbs and cobblestones
A music box playing La bohème
I turn the small crank like my life depends on it, because it might
In that moment
I picture Charles Aznavour’s wet eyes in Shoot the Piano Player
Sad and sincère
I cast myself as an extra in the scene where Boby Lapointe sings Framboise, because in Paris, you can be a piano bar singer and a mathematician
I collect fragments of conversations as I walk through the streets
“They have this romantic notion of Ireland”
“Her bus was stuck in traffic, on the day that Notre Dame burned”
“Do you think I’m moving too fast…”
“Le pain était délicat”
The music of Paris is heels in the 6th
Wheels of a suitcase on bass
Bump buh buh bump bump
At Cafe de Flore I see my friends, the warmth of the staff is the music of Paris
“A guy left without paying and now I owe 37 euros…”
I don’t have it, but I’ll find it, and make sure that debt is paid.
Oh. my. heart.
Stay Wild
Moon tides big winds rockin’ my boat of sand
I came to chase the strawberry moon all over the desert sea
The gentle hours drift and drift and drift until they’re cracked
And stars spill open all over the dirt and my heart is tired but glowing
A coyote shadows my moves and together we chase the strawberry moon
We both start howling
Gravitational pull
It’s all just so damn beautiful
The moon starts howling back
I ask if I can hang my heart on the moon’s lopsided smile
Coyote shrugs and squints, judging the distance to the moon
A couple hundred thousand miles, give or take
I climb and climb and climb through the rocks and spike
To wrap my arms around moon shadows
The gentle hours drift into dawn
A million glitter love stars bow to the sun
A blank page, a new day
The sun, a brilliant conductor for the birds
Winks at the moon still high in the sky
Their codependency is our miracle
Coyote tells me to stay wild
I nod reverently
It’s all I know
For some beautiful reason, artists have written songs about the words that spring from these pages. What an honor and a blessing.
Here’s one:
Wash Our Spirits Clean by DJ Oisin Lunny
DJ Oisin Lunny, from Geek Pie Radio 16th September 2023 mixed my “Wash Our Spirits Clean” post with Starseeds “Elsewhere”, taken from their seminal lost album of groovy electronica “Parallel Lives. The poetry starts a few minutes in.
“For this relief, much thanks.”—William Shakespeare, Hamlet
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Begin each day with a grateful heart.
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