Vision Verse Poems

Peter Martineau

The Whispers of Poetry
Some thoughts from Peter

Writing poetry is like trying to capture a ray of light. The images of the heart, the light rays within us, are sometimes very elusive.

I look at the words on my page and know they can only be a starting point, a hint of what I really feel and wish I could say. To speak from the heart, I must let go of the need for precision. I must accept and embrace the nature of the game, which is very fluid and intangible.

It’s like playing the game “telephone” in which a message is whispered from ear to ear, inevitably changing along the way. Much of the fun is allowing and enjoying the suprises that come.

The expressions and interpretations are as varied as the people who make them. And it all begins with the many voices in which life whispers to us. We receive its messages as thoughts and emotions, as physical and spiritual experience. Whatever we perceive may inspire us to share our experience through some form of art, such as poetry.

Art gives us the opportunity to go beyond the transfer of logical thought. And in that opportunity lies a whole new set of challenges much different than those faced by a news reporter or scientist.

Poetry is written more for the heart and spirit, than the intellect. You are not simply given facts to accept or reject. You are invited to join in the creative process, encouraged to lose all objectivity. You can chose to bring the depth of emotion from your own life experiences, to interpret and re-create each poem in your own very personal way.

What I offer is merely a spark designed to inspire you to experience something I can only hint at in words. Only you can make the whisper come alive with your imagination, and it doesn’t matter whether your experience matches mine.

If your response to a poem is joy, understanding, sadness or anger...if something meaningful happens within you, that’s what it’s all about.

Sometimes I still wish I could just capture an experience and hand it to you in some complete and precise way. I often feel after writing a poem, that the real message is still unsaid. The funny thing is, along with that feeling of incompleteness, I usually feel a wonderful hunger to reach deep into the heart of life and try again. I’m learning to savor the sweetness of that hunger, and I encourage you to rekindle and savor your own hunger for life.

Peace,
Peter

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