Poetry

Last night a former student posted "Say something Poetic" on a social network. Being the smart-ass English teacher I am, I immediately responded with, "Poetry is the sword of the soul" (off the cuff, spur of the moment; certainly not a particularly thoughtful or artful response), which led to a series of more-or-less serious exchanges which ultimately led to... this.

You might guess that poetry—in fact, all manner of aesthetic expression and experience—is important to me, and if so you'd be right. "Important" may in fact be too weak a word for what poetry and other aesthetic elements are to me, and not just to me. In my view, aesthetic experience is essential to human existence.

As Vincent and I bantered, my casual comment evolved into something meaningful (at least to me). Vincent asked if maybe the soul wasn't the sword of poetry (since without a soul, words wouldn't be written on paper), and I responded asking if the soul could exist apart from poetry or poetry apart from the soul. For me, posing the question was enough to conjure the answer: for me, poetry and the soul are inextricably intertwined, and one cannot exist without the other.

As with all arguments, it starts with definitions of terms. The soul—for me, in this context, speaking not literally but metaphorically—the soul is that ineffable, intangible, transcendent part of our being that is more than the sum of its parts. Maybe it's the synergistic sum of our thoughts and emotions and experiences. Maybe (and this is part of what I believe) it's that plus a "divine spark" that is the gift of God. Whatever it is, I believe that it needs aesthetic stimulus as much as our bodies need oxygen.

Which leads to my working definition of "poetry." For me, in this context, speaking not literally but metaphorically, poetry is the aesthetic part of us. It isn't just words, spoken or on a page; it is music and dance and art and the wordless experience and expression of awe at the mysteries and commonplaces of life. It is the breath of our souls; when we breathe it in (inspire), our souls take in an essential element, and when we breathe it out (express), we give of our essence to inspire others.

Without breath, I die. Without poetry (in the broad sense), the soul dies, or if it doesn't die it sleeps or hibernates. Breath is life. Poetry is the soul's life.

As an actor I long ago discovered how important my breath was to my performance. Not only is breath literally the life of my craft; it is also (part of) the medium of it. The emotions and physicality as well as the voice of my character are founded on my breath.

So it is with my soul. What poetry I breathe, in and out—and how I breathe it—affect my soul's life, moment by moment. Sometimes I gasp, sometimes I breathe slowly and deeply, sometimes I take shallow sips, and each both indicates of my soul's present state and influences its future.