Stopping by a Café to Drink a Poem

"How do you choose a poem to write? she asked.

How do you find the pulse of that vein,

that something precious which is nowhere?"

 

Where does a poem come from? Where is its birth place? What is its ancestry?

 

I have found poetry as a wound finds its scar, or a plucked flower finds an altar. The process is organic like breathing and unstructured as a heart plunging. It often starts as a curiosity to know deeply about something, a desire to unravel, to understand. But  quickly it becomes an investigation, an overwhelming desire to unravel light.  Fingers become a conduit, ink is the blood which starts flowing from the wounds which burst to reveal truths.

 

And I see myself clearer, and I see myself uglier. I might not realize that deep inside this ugliness lies the ultimate secret.  Because till then I have not realized that all truths are beautiful, however hideous they might seem. And that's when poetry enters it's most tremulous state - that of healing. For a poem, finally, is a true friend. It is both a mirror and a hand. It jolts you at the same time as it holds you. 

 

You will know whether you've encountered a great poem when you emerge from it fully drenched, lacerated, scarred - but strangely, strangely, alive.

 

If you liked this poem, consider listening to these other poems which are rich with the aroma of coffee & love -  

• Coffee, You & Me
• Searching for Coffee in Jaipur
• Lovers In The Morning

Follow me on Instagram at @sunilgivesup.

Get in touch with me on uncutpoetrynow@gmail.com

 

The details of the music used in this episode are as follows -

Falling Star by Sascha Ende®
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/90-falling-star
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Angels by Sascha Ende®
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/53-angels
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license