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A prompt : when did a poem “arrive in search of (you)?”

This is a challenge to other lovers of poetry.. the lines about poetry arriving in search of him form part of a poem by Pablo Neruda entitled : Poetry quoted before the first chapter of her book Saved By A Poem, How Poetry Saved My Life. In that chapter Kim Rosen tells of her inner struggle to unleash her own buried passion summoned up by an E E Cummings poem she was to memorize to speak aloud in school at the age of 15, and in particular of how the following lines opened up something locked deep inside of her she could not give expression or voice :

you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens

(touching, skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose.

The chapter really resonated with me, Kim’s struggles with the confinement of her personality, with her mother, with her own inhibitions and ultimately with depression, while moving me at the same time as much as the final lines of Pablo Neruda’s poem :

I wheeled with the stars, my heart broke open on the wind.

The exercise also generated for Kim a life long adventure of learning and saying and embodying the power of her favorite poems by reciting them out loud to herself and even to strangers who then shared their own poems that helped to save them. In this way and by fully entering into the energy of poems, poets and poetry she found a transformative pathway.

The following quote taken from the chapter really spoke to my soul too.

I was returning to a forgotten language that had once been mine. The poems seemed to know me better than I knew myself. They sparked insights and reflected my deepest feelings more intimately than words alone could touch. For though a poem is made of words, what touches us is between and beyond them… It is possible to speak the mystery, the silence, the unnameable joys and sorrows of my inner reality. To touch the wordless through a gathering of words.

So I wondered and would love to challenge other bloggers to share what poem they feel, at some point gave expression to something deep within your soul you could not name, or woke you up on some level. Or when did poetry arrive in search of you? You may like to share it in your own blog.. just a thought ❤

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Published by: emergingfromthedarknight

"The religious naturalist is provisioned with tales of natural emergence that are, to my mind, far more magical than traditional miracles. Emergence is inherent in everything that is alive, allowing our yearning for supernatural miracles to be subsumed by our joy in the countless miracles that surround us." Ursula Goodenough How to describe oneself? People are a mystery and there is so much more to us than just our particular experiences or occupations. I could write down a list of attributes and they still might not paint a complete picture pf Deborah Louise and in any case it would not be the full truth of me. I would say that my purpose here on Wordpress is to express some of my random experiences, thoughts and feelings, to share about my particular journey and explore some subjects dear to my heart, such as emotional recovery, healing and astrology while posting up some of the prose/poems which are an outgrowth of my labours with life, love and relationships. If anything I write touches you I would be so pleased to hear for the purpose of reaching out and expressung ourselves is hopefully to connect with each other and find where our souls meet.

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12 thoughts on “A prompt : when did a poem “arrive in search of (you)?””

  2. Poetry was my lifeline staring around 12 or 13. I don’t remember being exposed to much poetry, so I don’t have favorites. But once I learned it was a thing, I found my voice in the art form. Somehow both as speaker and listener. I filled journals with poems, but it was something I kept secret from everyone. I’m not sure why.

    Now as an adult I’m trying to fully embrace it. I’m trying to hear other poet’s voices, practice different styles, and grow my skills with it. It does feel like the language of my heart.

    I love your poems. What has your journey with poetry been like?

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    1. I believe my first introduction to.poetry was via T S Eliots poem The Wastand. It spoke deeply to my soul. Because our home was so focused on business practicality and responsibility poetry had no place so it wasn’t really until I read that poem in my teens I began to connect with in.
      In sobriety I found and began to love the mystical.poetd like Rilke Rumi and Hafiz, those poems made me come alive deep inside and resonated. Its only in later years I’ve dared to write my faltering poetry. It pales in comparison to so much I read but it so helps me to emotionally process things. It’s interesting you hid this passion. Possibly having no one around to relate to about it. Thank God that changes. 🌈🌹❤

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      1. I so love how poetry finds us and brings us more fully to life. ❤️ I haven’t read The Wasteland yet, but I’m going to check it out. That’s so interesting how you remember one of your first introductions to poetry.

        Your poetry shines as being from the heart, it’s beautiful. So glad you share your poems on here.

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