Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Love the darkness

Poetry. Spoken Word. Finding space and seeking pragmatic progress in an artform that does not lend itself to illusions of material grandeur. If you seek the comfort of comfortable living then perhaps you should pursue other avenues. My evolution is born of reality and truth. "In Word We Trust" does not answer all the questions, experience is the key.

I have travelled through the phases of poetic life: enthusiasm, excitement, passion, pragmatism, disillusionment, denial, acceptance. I have travelled and now must accept the truth. Poetry as a 'career' is a long and winding road and, at some point, it must be put aside for more realistic endeavours. I shall always write but it cannot be the only thing I do ..... That is a truth and I accept. It is a marathon as opposed to a sprint (as cliched as can be). Today I rest. Tomorrow, perhaps, I shall become a poet once more, but today, I rest.

My comfort is in my notebooks. In these moments I shall bask in the silence and breathe the chaos that exists internally. I shall let the voices dictate what tomorrow holds. I shall no longer attempt to pre-empt them. The beauty of the future is that it is unknown. I lower myself into this pool of mystery and embrace its cool, calm waters.

1 comment:

Kojo Baffoe said...

Hey Swati, thank you for the words of encouragement. It is a journey with its ups and downs so I accept the chaos as part of the growth process. It is difficult sometimes finding balance between passion & pragmatism. All one can really do is keep trying and keep questioning and constantly re-defining. Easy