Good morning. Sundays are devoted to poetry on the blog. Recently The Wall Street Journal ran an article about Maksym Kryvtsov, a Ukrainian poet turned soldier. Kryvtsov, who wrote most of his poems about the horrors of the war, perished in battle, on January 7th. He was 33. One of his most well-known poems talked of his “severed arms” that would “sprout as violets in the spring.” This same poem ends with these lines:
My bones
Will sink into the earth
Will become a carcass
My busted rifle
Will rust
Poor thing
My spare clothes and equipment
Will be given to new recruits
Well I’d rather it were spring already
To finally
Bloom
As a violet.
Poetry touches our hearts and our souls in a way that more direct writing cannot seem to do. I suppose that the way to our collective hearts is a windy path, filled with mystery, nuance, feeling, and to surrendering to its ever changing direction. I wrote the poem below, just this morning, before reading again, the poem above by Maksym Kryvtsov, which my husband had kindly laid aside for me a week or so ago. I am humbled by the difference in poetry by a poet who is surrounded by the direness of war, versus a writer who leads an agreeable life, in a country not at war.
On stormy, cold, windy days,
As the rain hammers its surroundings,
Home feels so cozy, comforting, serene.
Curling up in our own corner of the world,
Fills us with the feeling of being nurtured,
By the nesting that we busied ourselves with,
in more agreeable, enticing, seductive weather.
On still, bright, inviting, playful days,
We jauntily leave home for adventures,
Full of confidence, curiosity and calm.
And we often bring home possessions,
Which remind us of our truest selves.
So that when the storms arise again,
We are surrounded by the contentment,
Of our inner selves, displayed in physical form.
Our home, which is an extension of the life of us,
Is our familiar and steadfast, shelter from the storm.
Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.
Here is the question of the day from 3000 Questions About Me:
1375. Do you think happiness is a choice?