#ROW80 Potential and Poetry

March 15, 2015 — 6 Comments

ROW80

We have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but today is overflowing with potential.
Allan Lokos
Through the Flames

This quote by Mr Lokos perfectly describes my current position on my poetic future. By starting to investigate life and learning through poetry I have opened a vast area of artistic and intellectual study that I am just beginning to understand.  Turning my attention to it has automatically turned some poets’ attention to me.  One or two people post poems on my Facebook wall every day, which adds a social element to the mix.  I don’t believe these writers have read any of my poems, but they have decided to share theirs directly to/with me.  I follow more poets all the time who blog. Calligraphy with word significance has also come to my attention.  This is a wonderful way to make words larger than life and more colorful than just typing.  I have not tried it myself but am thinking of doing some writing by hand instead of always on a keyboard.  It may stimulate something new.

I have thought about working with my ancestors as characters to create epic poems or stories, and have done a little work in that direction.  People work with notes and written outlines, but I have yet to put these to work for me.  I still contemplate images in my head for a while before I begin, but think I can benefit from a notebook with handwritten notes and drawings.  When this 80 days has come to a full circle I plan to start a notebook and handwriting practice.  I want to see if random idea trapping and tracking will help me kill my darlings and move on to deeper subjects.  If I start pages for different times in history or branches of my family tree I think I can develop some themes from which to write fiction or poetry.  I like mind mapping, but have not employed it to the task of writing.  I believe it can unlock a boat load of potential material using this method.  I have no idea what I may do with it, but it will be fun to find it.

Allan Lokos was in a plane that crashed and burned leaving him injured. His book was written to help others find compassion and patience in the face of challenging circumstances.  His attitude about potential is key because every day is full of potential.  Many of our lives contain too much repetition, little true bliss, and a lack of compassion.  We are all recovering from something, although normally nothing so severe as an airplane crash.  Honoring potential today by writing is a tribute to collective creativity.  Rarely do plans for tomorrow work out exactly as we imagined.  Writing creates a trail of breadcrumbs for the soul to trace its’ way.  Poetry celebrates the way each of us is gifted with our own set of talents and perspectives.  Leaving our stories and thoughts recorded for others to read may turn out to be uplifting or helpful to someone.  This journey has  contributed greatly to my ability to tap into the overflowing potential all around us. I appreciate the chance to interact with magic, words, and power. Cheers, gentle readers!

cocktail that wants to be a poem