Our experiences define us. Every day we make hundreds of decisions, interact with a variety of different people, compute an array of ideas, and sort through a vast number of different emotions. Everything is dynamic and in a constant state of evolution and progress.
At times, however, it can feel like nothing ever really changes. We go to work or school or we sit at home. Go there, come back, and repeat and repeat and repeat. Sometimes we fall victim to complacency, apathy, or even despair. How can we get out of this rut, and, at the same time, celebrate the beautiful complexity and diversity of life? The answer is simple: poetry.
Language—the way we say and write stuff—is a vehicle that we have the chance to drive every day. And like any vehicle, our language needs to be kept in proper working order. The best way to maintain and improve it is simply to use it. But of course we’re not just talking about using it like we normally would use it. That’s staying static. Where’s the challenge and growth in that? Moreover, where’s the fun in that? Remember that we want our language to evolve along with everything else. If it’s not progressing, it’s regressing.
The beautiful thing about poetry (and especially about the Daily Poetry Club) is that it helps us think of things in a slightly different light, a more tangible light. We all keep our experiences in our minds as snapshots. We just have to glance at them and everything instantly comes flooding back: faces, names, thoughts, smells—whatever. With poetry, it’s different. It’s more linear. Because we can’t just double-click on the mental picture and print it off to show people, we’ve got to take that snapshot and that experience and break it down into what it really means to us. We’ve actually got to really think about it and process it in order to put it into words. Describing experiences, objects, and feelings in poetry form is exercise for the mind, and the more we work at it, the stronger it becomes. But remember that the key to exercise is resistance. If poetry were that simple to create, if it required no flexing of the brain whatsoever, then it wouldn’t be at all satisfying, enjoyable, or meaningful.
Being involved with writing poetry is simultaneously looking at things through a microscope and a telescope. We look at small things more closely. Minute details are examined and digested. But we also step back and try to figure out the big picture, where and how it all fits in. When we write a poem every day, when we’re constantly looking through the microscope and telescope, we naturally notice and understand things that we didn’t notice or understand before. We see things that we didn’t see before. Life itself becomes superbly poetic and rich. That’s what we’ve experienced, and we hope that you too can experience it (if you haven’t already) with the help of this online community.
We hope that you can get comfortable with writing poetry. We can testify from experience that the more you do it, the easier it gets. We hope that the vehicle you drive will, with time, be more of a Rolls Royce and less of a rusty old clunker. We hope that it serves you well and that it will take you many, many more beautiful miles.
Tristan
DPC Founder
