the poem doesn’t have lines, it has blood,
the poem is not written with letters, it’s written
with grains of sand and kisses, petals and moments,
shouts and uncertainties.
~José Luís Peixoto
Portuguese author-poet José Luís Peixoto finishes up my month of poems about poetry, words, and books. Sending appreciation to José for allowing me to share this!
from Ars Poetica (The Art of Poetry)
by José Luís Peixoto
The poem has nothing more than the sound of its meaning,
The letter P is not the first letter of the word poem --
Poem is sculpted from the senses and this is its form.
You don’t read poem as poem,
You read it bread or flower,
Read it as fresh grass and your lips,
You read it as smile stretched over a thousand trees
Or sky of knives,
threat,
You read fear and looking for the blind,
You read it child's hands
Or you, mother, who is sleeping
And assured that I was born of you
To be words which are not written,
You read it country and sea
And forgotten sky and memory,
You read it silence
Yes, over and over, poem reads silence ...
~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's a poem by José that brought a tear to my eye (you've been warned!):
By random selection, we have a winner of St. George's Reward...BECKY SHILLINGTON! Congrats, Becky! I look forward to being your patron-of-surprises (or is that matron?). I will be sending a one-time surprise to two other randomly selected folks, but I will keep their names secret so it will really be a surprise...
No Water River is the Poetry Friday round-up host.
I was not familiar with this poet, but love his work. Thanks for sharing. I have not watched his reading yet...got to get tissues ready and my mind set!
ReplyDeleteGood luck today wrapping your mind around the next line of the Progressive Poem!
Great poems to make poetry come alive. Thanks for sharing, Tabatha.
ReplyDeleteThat second poem was so touching! Thanks for yet another introduction to a new-to-me poet. I think I need to start another HotTEA series with Jose in it :).
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, Tabatha. I just read your daughter's poem about poetry to my poetry group today, FYI. They loved it of course. Now this one needs to be shared, too. Thanks for introducing this new poet.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of poems about poetry, Tabatha. Thanks so much for sharing these. And I am SO excited to be your St. George's Reward winner! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteBoth poems are beautiful, Tabatha. Thank you for introducing us to José's work. The quote at the beginning of your post was possibly my favorite of all.
ReplyDelete...we will always be five.
ReplyDeleteEating alone without being alone--such a comforting idea.
Loved the poem he read, and yes, it brought tears!
ReplyDelete"Poem is sculpted from the senses" *sigh* Thanks for sharing, Tabatha.
ReplyDeleteI just heard the sound of my heart falling in love. Oh my goodness, Tabatha. Both poems are gorgeous. I will share on my Facebook Page and tag you. :)
ReplyDelete