Poetry
My first true love was ink on paper. Letters lined up neatly on a piece of paper. The smell of a new book. Sentences scribbled into carefully hidden notebooks to caputure a fleeting feeling. I was, am and always will be in love with books. Since I was a kid, I would pour my heart and soul out on paper – just to find it again in someone else’s writing. In fact, I got so obsessed with certain books that I would hide them from my sister, afraid that by reading them she might be able to take a sneak peek into the deepest chambers of my soul… Of all forms of writing poetry holds the most special place in my heart. There are only few people on this planet who know that I have been writing poetry since I was little – and even fewer whom I ever shared any of my poems with. One year ago, I first read a few of my poems in public at the WOMEN’S HUB in Zurich (thanks again, Arjanna, for providing me with a safe and loving space to do so). On that day I added the word „poet“ to my Linkedin bio, next to all the business blah-blah. I am still feeling weird talking about poetry and owning this very fragile and vulnerable side of mine. Maybe it’s because many people hated analyzing poems in school (which actually felt like beating them to death instead of soaking up their spirit…). Maybe it’s because the days seem long gone when being a poet could turn you into a very respected and visible person – a celebrity even. I still don’t get it. Why are poems not more popular these days? It’s definitely not a matter of time. A poem fits into the tiniest breaks of your schedule. It’s a microcosmos, the shortest, most condensed story one can ever tell. It’s seeing the world through a microscope or zooming out in space and time. I am with Audre Lorde: Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action. Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought. The farthest horizons of our hopes and fears are cobbled by our poems, carved from the rock experiences of our daily lives. When was the last time you took the time to read a poem? Have a beautiful day – filled with meaningful words 🙂 Tanja This text was first published in my though-letter Tanja’s Butterflies (September Edition 2023). If you are interested in receiving the next editions in your inbox including additional resources such as inspiring quotes, books and more, you can subscribe here. |
