The Big Heart
"Too many things are occurring for even a big heart to hold."
–From an essay by W.B Yeats
Big heart,
wide as a watermelon,
but wise as birth,
there is so much abundance
in the people I have
Max, Lois, Joe, Louise,
Joan, Marie, Dawn
Arlene, Father Dunne,
and all in their short lives
give to me repeatedly,
in the way the sea
places its many fingers on the shore,
again and again
and they know me,
they help me unravel,
they listen with ears made of conch shells,
they speak back with the wine of the best region.
They are my staff.
They comfort me.
They hear how
the artery of my soul has been severed
and soul is purting out upon them,
bleeding on them,
messing up their clothes,
dirtying their shoes.
And God is filling me,
though there are times of doubt
as hollow as the Grand Canyon,
still God is filling me.
He is giving me the thoughts of dogs,
the spider in its intricate web,
the sun
in all its amazement,
and a slain ram
that is the glory,
the mystery of great cost,
and my heart,
which is very big,
I promise it is very large,
a monster of sorts,
takes it all in–
all in comes the fury of love.
Anne Sexton
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9 comments:
I was going to congratulate you on a great poem--until I read it was by Anne Sexton. She's great, my old prof got me into her.
Good eye, Maleah. I love that last line, "all in comes the fury of love." How awesome that line reads. Excellent work.
Hope you are doing well.
Peace out
Hi Eric. I'm as well as I get! Thanks. Like I said WAY down at the bottom in the labels thingie, my friend Allison sent this to me. By snail mail. On pretty paper. In her own hand. I've been carrying it in my purse and I take it out and read it because it speaks to me so well right now. I just wanted to share it. Friends who know us best always give the perfect gift, don't they?
Peace to you as well.
M
YAY! MALEAH GOT THE JOB SHE WANTS!
clapclapclapCLAPclapclapCLAP!
Hurrah for you, wonderful one, and mango, please. I'd like my shaved ice treat to be mango flavored.
Are you dancing? A cloud just dimmed the outside lights. I think you must be dancing in Houston and the sun's rushed over to shine on you. Be warm and enjoy, my friend.
That's the best kind. I wanted to get one of Singleton's drawings a little bit back. You know what she wanted in return. One poem, hand written. That was it. I still sent some old Levis to be turned into cut offs and a book with it, but I gladdly wrote down the poem she choses and sent it.
Really nice. I was happy. She was too! She framed it up and I framed up her drawing, and we both got new art from old art. The world is a wonderful place.
Dawn, I was dancing for a minute at the printer. Just a brief shimmy while wearing my iPod and waiting for a page. The heavens always notice I guess.
I finally feel like I'm moving in some good direction...
But I wish I was twirling hoops!
-M
Eric, The world is a wonderful place... indeed.
art on.
-M
Psst. There's something I'd like you to see on my page. Check out Wednesday's post.
~And I hear you; maybe something's shifted with the stars, but I feel like my direction's getting better too. I had my first writing critique in awhile and it went really well. But before it went well I decided I wouldn't care if anyone liked my work or not, that I was only on the look-out for better insight into my stories and I knew what I liked. And then they liked it and I'd already decided I wouldn't be affected by their opinion, but I did see that more people get my stuff than I'd been thinking. I haven't known how much people understand what I say. It was such a nice surprise to see I can relax and trust that somebody gets it.
Go check out my page!
and keep dancing. What are you listening to?
I would think that among creative writers you would be in good company. But art is so hard to put out there sometimes. I'm glad you have a place in your head and heart to accept your work. Faith. I lift the following and offer it up:
Self-Reliance is an essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson. It was first published in his 1841 collection, Essays: First Series. It contains the most solid statement of one of Emerson's repeating themes, the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow his or her own instincts and ideas.
In this essay, Emerson conveys his transcendentalist philosophy and belief in self-reliance, an essential part of which is to trust in one's present thoughts and impressions rather than those of other people or of one's past self. This philosophy is exemplified in the quote: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Emerson stresses the need to believe one's own thoughts, while actively searching one's internal mind in order to capture the flash thought that may or may not come across. However, Emerson articulates that although one has unlimited potential in oneself, few actually possess the confidence to develop his mind fully. Emerson then writes, "Trust yourself," for God will not have his work made manifest by "cowards". Immediately afterwards, he asserts that everyone has the innate tendency to express independent, genuine verdict when young. But, when young men become adults, Emerson argues, they will become "clapped into jail by his consciousness." Additionally, the various expectations of society will influence the minds of adults to a great extent, for society does not love realities and creative minds, but loves customs and traditions. The essay states that "To be great is to be misunderstood", by illustrating how enormously influential historical characters (Jesus Christ, Columbus, Pythagoras, Copernicus) were fiercely opposed during their lifetimes, while time later demonstrated the accuracy of their proposals.
Emerson also stresses originality, believing in one's own genius and living from within. From this springs the quote: "Envy is ignorance, imitation is suicide." He goes one step forward from mere inconformity by suggesting everyone to "make your own Bible", instead of blindly following traditionally held religious ideas. This revolutionized the American church.
Ah! I could read this again and again. It's so exciting, his ideas talk about such intimate parts of individual experience, it's just wonderful.
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