Qualifying questions, remedial response.
Knowledge of situations often haunt.
What we know or have been told.
We tell ourselves we just don’t know.
Answers formed by thoughts untold.
Rumour and misinformation often sold.
Conspiracy theories tend to rule the day.
Bare truth and logic will get in the way.
04/22/2024 j.g.l.
Current Thoughts
Open your mouth, let words
bypass lips. Converse consciously
to brethren or bystanders.
Reach out to
close friends gone amiss.
Be not afraid, not now, of
articulating current thoughts and
accomplishments of which
you are proud, and even your sins
(for we have all owned a few)
might seem far less tragic
from an altered point of view.
Give fresh voice
to insecurities and anxieties hidden
within your self, speak highly of
those dusty dreams
languishing on a shelf.
Past sullen moments cast a
lengthy shadow, short-term
expectations tend to dull down
long-term possibilities.
Talk freely around all you want,
or hope, or desire to be.
Each intention will resonate
with those who wholly believe.
Understanding takes effort.
© 2024 j.g. lewis
April 18th is Poem in Your Pocket Day
a day to celebrate poetry by selecting a poem,
carrying it in your pocket, and sharing with the
friends and strangers who cross your path.
Share a poem wherever the day takes you, as you
would share a smile, a gesture, or your kindness.
Sharing is caring.
April is Poetry Month
take a poem to lunch
Our paths shift, circumstance and
attitude shaping our trajectory.
The company we keep alters both
our outlook and destination.
We are where we are
mainly because of who we are
and whom we are with.
04/16/2024 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.
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
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.