1. A taste of what is to come

Poetry to make you feel seen and inspired

suggested reading method

To best savour this artwork, please take a moment to eliminate distractions. Consider minimizing all other windows on your computer; putting other devices (phone, tv etc) aside; taking a deep breath, to the full extent of your lung capacity; and focusing solely on the “artwork” section.
Once you’ve processed that to your satisfaction, the rest of the post is optional reading, provided only to share my own impressions and reasons for choosing this piece.

---

artwork

6. You, perfectly

   I have foreseen
   you reading this be-
   fore you were ever
   
   conceived. And
   so for sure I recognize
   you, perfectly. How
   
   and how long this
   lives depends now
   and ever on you.
   
   On the other side of
   this page I lurk as well
   behind your eyes.
   
   Seek me nowhere.
   Whoever or whatever I
   was dissolves. All
   
   that’s left is this, in
   your eyes, ears, mouth,
   heart, mind, spirit.

by Richard Berengarten, published in his poetry collection Changing, 2016 (p. 430)

---

interpretation

It’s a happy accident this poem ends with the word “spirit”; however, that’s not the main reason I chose this piece to kick off my newsletter. I appreciate the way this poem confidently claims its place in your mind, “behind your eyes”, infused in your senses. The poet-speaker (i.e. the character speaking these words, not to be confused with Mr. Berengarten himself) has no way of knowing who you are, nor your particular situation at this moment. Yet, in an uncanny sort of way, these words still make you feel seen, right? Especially if you suspend disbelief and let them do so, with an open heart.

In an interesting turn, the poet-speaker’s assertive position dissipates in the second-last stanza, leaving you to carry forward “this” in the last stanza – whatever you determine “this” is. Life, beauty, energy, all of the above…?

context

I had the incredible fortune of meeting Richard Berengarten several times in my life: first as an undergraduate taking my study abroad term at Cambridge, and then as an MPhil grad student. He and I attended meetings with the Pelican Poets and Writers Society, a group based in Corpus Christi College (one of the 31 colleges within Cambridge University).

The Pelican Poets and Writers meet every few weeks of term to discuss poems and short story excerpts, based on themes such as friendship, generational gaps, and time. A silver lining of Covid is that they moved some of these meetings to Zoom, and with the time difference, I could join on my lunch hour at work.

Every time I leave one of these Pelican meetings I feel inspired, in awe of the endless beauty of the written word and the pursuit of art itself. This is the way I hope this newsletter can make you feel.