When this poem appeared at Poets.org, Jason Bayani said of it:
"There was a point where I started to question what I was doing as a poet and if my voice was even needed, which I think was a necessary question for me to explore. But for a while, I didn’t write because that question made me uncomfortable and I tend to avoid discomfort. I don’t know if this poem is me facing that; maybe it’s a beginning, a negotiation of some kind, a way to find my way back to the table, or a way to understand my poetics inside of a world in collapse."
Have you been there? Have you felt that? I have, and I so appreciate the kinship of a fellow writer who admits that we sometimes need to find our way back to the table.
Someday, Again
by Jason Bayani
I’m waiting for the words to catch up to my heart which is
elliptical at the moment there’s an apology
even I am expecting to bore out of my throat
but what for what for
I am continuing to write in a font that displeasures me
everything shifts so rapidly
my body the environment my body the environment
why not return to something as aggressively unspectacular as arial
....
(Read the rest here.)
~~~~~~~~~~
The lovely and talented Michelle Kogan is the gracious hostess this week for the Poetry Friday round-up.
18 comments:
A brave poem from this new-to-pe talent sharing how not knowing how to write/selecting what to write on Truth Beauty Justice is heart-opening. I'm appreciative, Karen for your sharing.
On this special weekend, wishing you a kind & warm-hearted time.
new-to-me [such a t y p o !!]
Karen, this is a soul-searching poem that stirs thoughts within me. Honesty is refreshing. Thanks for sharing this poem. Have a wonderful weekend leading to a new year.
Wonderful poem Karen, I'm smiling at his/its candor—I feel like he's right here, having this conversation–marvelous, thanks, and also for the Rilke quote, which I love! Happy New Year! 🥳
His voice feels as if he's across the room talking to us, trying to be so honest, and I know it can be anytime, yet it seems just right for our few days before the new year, Karen, "even the idea that ideas are commodity" calls for conversation. Thanks for sharing and wishing you a very Happy New Year!
(From Tanita, whom Google apparently hates today.) I need to post this poem to my whole writing group. Thanks for including the poet's assertion that this is at times a "necessary" question - what a perfect meditation for the end of the year.
This is Patricia. Thank you for sharing this poem, Karen. It rings true for me especially in the face of all that is happening in our world. Oof.
I love the way Bayani's honesty and self-examination reverberate with us. What a pleasure to share this one as we close out the old year and bravely face the next.
I love the metaphor of the font. And this poem resonates with me--the uncertainty of the invite to sit at the table, the uncertainty of the skill to express what I want to...alll of it. Thanks--and Happy New Year, Karen!
Oh, yes, this commentary resonates. What I have learned, for my own self, is that ‘the table’ is holy ground: we are all of us motes in God's glorious Creation, worthy of voicing our truths and dreams (and nightmares). If it is, at times, a table for one only (the writer), ,so be it. Life is so precious, so fleeting: rise! Speak! Dance and sing …
Happy New Year dawning, Karen❣️praying peace and joy for you as the seasons turn🕊😘
Oooof wow. I love (and ache with) the stream of consciousness here... Thank you for sharing.
Karen- I could definitely relate the emotions you wrote about and the poem. I constantly question my ability to write a poem that will resonate with someone else. Months and sometimes years have gone by where I've only written in my journal because I didn't think I had anything to offer. I still feel that way sometimes, and it stops me in my tracks every time. Thank you for sharing the poem and your thoughts. And, yes, your voice matters-keep writing! Happy New Year!
I certainly often struggle to find words for my feelings and usually fall short. But it’s usually fun. The creative effort of writing being one way to go deeper into what is meaningful to me at any given time. Thanks for sharing this poem, Karen, which made me think!
Love that, Karen! Whew. I can hear so much relatable frustration in "not having the words// can feel like not having something to hit." This poem captures a lot in its struggle to name, and feels like just the right selection for the end of the year.
Thank you for sharing this. I love his use of the caesura. Definitely contributes to the mood/tone of the poem.
Yup. I feel this all the time. But for me it's not so much trying to find a way back to the table as it is...do I even belong at the table in the first place? I let myself wonder...and then blunder along as if I, too, belong.
Karen, thank you for sharing Bayani's poem. It is powerful. I so love the two meanings of "I miss you" he refers to at the end of the poem.
The question you highlight here with your post, the poem, the question, all of it resonates all too well. Do we dare think we belong at this table? "Everyone belongs or no one belongs." Wisdom of Richard Rohr.
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