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 βartworkβ section.
Once youβve 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
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
thatβs left is this, in
your eyes, ears, mouth,
heart, mind, spirit.
by Richard Berengarten, published in his poetry collection Changing, 2016 (p. 430)
interpretation
Itβs a happy accident this poem ends with the word βspiritβ; however, thatβs 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, βbehind your eyesβ, 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-speakerβs assertive position dissipates in the second-last stanza, leaving you to carry forward βthisβ in the last stanza β whatever you determine βthisβ is. Life, beauty, energy, all of the aboveβ¦?
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.
1. A taste of what is to come
This is seriously so fun and heartwarming!! The part of me who wants to be a student of life is like "yes, I get to attend English class via Rachel's analysis" πβ¨