Stanzas Of The Soul
1. One dark night,fired with love's urgent longings-
ah, the sheer grace! -
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.
I love Lent.
Usually among experimental poets I am the only person who is Catholic. Usually I have to curb my enthusiasm for poets who dwell in spiritual anguish- John of the Cross, St Francis, Thomas Merton, Sor Juana all these poets are anguished spiritual seekers in whom darkness and anguish animate a poetic project that fills me often with wonder.
It is fitting on Ash Wednesday to talk about these type of people who poetically lived not in an ironic-hipster world we dwell in but in a world of seriousness and anguish . Often I get tired of all the irony and "I know better because I am a poetness" and I go to these men and look for darkness and depth I find this in some poets; Mark Tardi is good at anguish, so is Peter Gizzi and Jennifer Moxley too is good anguish... but there are so few.
CÁNTICO
¿Adónde te escondiste,
Amado, y me dexaste con gemido?
Como el ciervo huyste haviéndome herido; salí tras ti clamando, y eras ydo.
Pastores, los que fuerdes allá por las majadas al otero,
si por ventura vierdes aquél que yo más quiero,
decilde que adolezco,
peno y muero.
As the Lenten Fast Begins- I look for the Dark Night and listen for the stag in the woods.
1 comment:
Yeah! Another Caholic poet! Me too... and oddly, 2/3rds of my classmates (Advanced Poetry MFA class) are also catholic, and our writing is vastly different. While I don't consider myself "hardcore" catholic... by that I mean, the church has some SERIOUS problems and wounds to address. I hope to exemplify the large-hearted, free-thinking types ... there are things I love about it for the same reasons I love poetry: the creative expression, spirituality, tradition, repetitive chants, prayers, song, peace, beauty, reverence...
All this to say: Interesting post.
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