What shows
how little
we know?
What can be is
oft far less than
what we expect.
What is now
has never been
what it was.
07/25/2024 j.g.l.
value beyond
Simplicity.
Is there emotion in austerity?
Humanity?
What do you see when attempting
to define your limited visibility?
Minimalism, abstract impressionism
or incorporeal thought.
Less is more, but is it enough?
Texture, tone, and value beyond
your current scene. If you take it to an
extreme, you will question
what it means.
What is really there?
What line do you cross?
Can simplicity be complicated, or
should it even be attempted?
07/23/2024 j.g.l.
Mondays are just young Fridays
Things will not go as planned. Intentions will be disrupted, even overlooked, in the aftermath of an unexpected reality.
Where you are headed will not be the place you end up, undoubtedly or undeniably. No matter how hard you attempt to make each gesture, brushstroke, promise, prayer, or pastime as perfect as you believe it can be, many times you will not arrive at a perceived destination. All too often your endeavors never hit the mark; at times your work may be better than expected (celebrate those moments), but everything (even your judgement) is subjective.
You are not limited to, or by, the colours in your paintbox or progression of your process.
Imagination is as limited or expansive as you want it to be. Give it time to blossom; in certain instances, you may even have to reel it in. This is all about possibilities, no matter which media, method, or style you are beholden to.
You owe your art (or life) nothing but your presence; the value comes from the practice, as rudimentary or spontaneous as it is or will become.
07/22/2024 j.g.l.
I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.
Words That Move And Words That Matter
Posted on April 1, 2017 by j.g.lewis
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A poem must be more than simply words on a page; a parking ticket or the label off a soup tin would qualify, if that were the case.
That’s not to discount legalese or test-kitchen directions, for those printed words are wholly purposeful and necessary. But, like detailed instructions for assembling a bicycle or preparing a box of macaroni and cheese, the words lack feeling and flexibility.
Poetry, whether freeform or doled out in strict sonnet, sentient stanza, or curious couplet, is not written in observance of language as much as in defiance of it. A poet sets out to produce something uncommon using common words made up of the same 26 letters everybody else uses. In doing so, life is filled with words that move and words that matter.
Poetry is the currency of emotion in a fickle economy that encourages consumption and produces mass waste. Poetry is efficient, not affluent, and does not require a full page (or span thereof) to fill a heart with joy or a mind with questions.
Poetry takes the effort to do what mere sentences can’t, and it does so freely and for the benefit of everybody and, perhaps, nobody in particular.
Poetry is about inclusion, but it is certainly not the democratization of language, but rather a liberation of ideas from which mortals can step forward with greater humility, increased purpose, and freedom from the mundane or impervious thought which tends to label, discriminate, and stifle.
It does so without complexity and without contradiction.
A poem means what you want it to mean, yet never is it simply words on a page.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
APRIL is POETRY MONTH, a reason and season to celebrate the language we all may take for granted. Whether you read it or write it, take extra time this month to soak up some poetry. Dig out a familiar poetry volume or, better yet, buy a new book. Find some new favourites.
Check back often. Each day this month there will be new poetry right here.
04/1/17 j.g.l.
#NPM17 #poetrymonth
