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| Christmas shadows by Kathleen Tyler Conklin |
It can happen. Ian McEwan, the writer, has said you can "be
so engrossed in reading poetry that you barely know you exist."
He speaks of reading the Elizabeth Bishop poem "Under The Window:Ouro
Preto" and being so concentrated and carried away by its images
that he found he was unaware that his friends who were with him had
left the room.
Not every poem has this power to completely absorb us so that we are
lifted to a place outside ourselves. Some do. I suppose it is
the confluence of certain things coming together…our own experiences
and the magic of the poetic words sparking to transport us to a moment
of ecstasy.
Ewan speaks of the effort it takes to "step out of the daily
narrative of existence and to draw the neglected cloak of stillness
around you." I love this image of drawing the stillness of
a poem around us like a cloak. Sadly, we must return to the daily grind
of existence. However, McEwan reminds us that the poem leaves
something with us. He suggests it is " a feeling of being lighter,
softer, larger. The feeling will leave…but never completely."
So this winter season, I hope that you will take some time to
wrap yourself in the cloak of stillness.
May the ecstasy be with
you.
Wow, I've never been thrown into ecstasy by a poem -- except perhaps by one of Mark's limericks!
ReplyDeleteHa..Ha...I'd say that's more of a painful spasm.
DeleteYou have to read a lot, but one day you'll find one that transports you...I promise.