Wow, this is just so beautiful. It had me in the description - as someone who lost a sibling tragically in early adulthood, I know the feeling of rupture, and of nothing making sense any more. This poem is quite wonderful in its fluidity and lack of structure; it's glorious imagery and slow urgency. I know nothing about critiquing poetry but this really impacted me. 'Poem is too busy to answer'. Genius. Thank you 🙏
Oh Emma, what a beautiful message. I am so sorry for your loss, I can only imagine the pain of that rupture <3 I love that you connected so strongly to the poem that makes me so happy. Everything you said is precisely why I started this poetry curation and finding those descriptions from Ann herself was so powerful for me. I find poetry can be so falsely alienating because if we can't get an immediate purchase on a poem we feel like we don't understand it and it's intended for a greater intellect maybe but in saying what she said, she grants us all permission to not understand and go along for the ride anyway. Thank you so much for sharing :)
It’s exactly that. Permission not to understand. It’s also something I love about getting older - I no longer feel the need to prove I ‘understand’ something in an intellectual way, I just connect to it in a more spiritual way. My teenage daughters (and their peers) instinctively shy away from poetry, thinking it’s not for them, which is so sad. Thank you for opening up this exploration and reminding me how universal it is 💕🙏
Yes precisely! We're singing from the same hymn sheet :) How does the form of it, the language, the energy, the spirit of it make you feel as opposed to needing to know what it means -- which I also feel is often the failing of modern education when it comes to poetry. I feel so sad for all the people missing out too. It is such an extraordinary outlet for human expression and spiritual understanding! <3
Wow, this is just so beautiful. It had me in the description - as someone who lost a sibling tragically in early adulthood, I know the feeling of rupture, and of nothing making sense any more. This poem is quite wonderful in its fluidity and lack of structure; it's glorious imagery and slow urgency. I know nothing about critiquing poetry but this really impacted me. 'Poem is too busy to answer'. Genius. Thank you 🙏
Oh Emma, what a beautiful message. I am so sorry for your loss, I can only imagine the pain of that rupture <3 I love that you connected so strongly to the poem that makes me so happy. Everything you said is precisely why I started this poetry curation and finding those descriptions from Ann herself was so powerful for me. I find poetry can be so falsely alienating because if we can't get an immediate purchase on a poem we feel like we don't understand it and it's intended for a greater intellect maybe but in saying what she said, she grants us all permission to not understand and go along for the ride anyway. Thank you so much for sharing :)
It’s exactly that. Permission not to understand. It’s also something I love about getting older - I no longer feel the need to prove I ‘understand’ something in an intellectual way, I just connect to it in a more spiritual way. My teenage daughters (and their peers) instinctively shy away from poetry, thinking it’s not for them, which is so sad. Thank you for opening up this exploration and reminding me how universal it is 💕🙏
Yes precisely! We're singing from the same hymn sheet :) How does the form of it, the language, the energy, the spirit of it make you feel as opposed to needing to know what it means -- which I also feel is often the failing of modern education when it comes to poetry. I feel so sad for all the people missing out too. It is such an extraordinary outlet for human expression and spiritual understanding! <3
Yes!!! Away from the stanza and the iambic pentameter.., (feels like a poem in the making). This has inspired a Substack article I’m going to write 💕🙏
Please write that poem!! And wow, just delighted that this has inspired you :) Happy Sunday <3