The Laughing Heart
There is what we know. What we experience, consciously.
There is what we know, but that is most often hidden from us. What we keep unconsciously.
And there is certainly much that we do not know.
I don’t truly understand poetry and its many forms, but I recently read a description of this art form that was something like: Poetry (and art) exists to bring us closer to that which we do not know.
I think there are many things unknown to us, consciously…but that we are infinitely connected to an understanding of all things, unconsciously.
We often have a feeling that seems familiar, but that we cannot understand, or a concept that seems within reach, that we cannot articulate. I think poetry (and art) can be a bridge between what we know, and what we KNOW…no matter the format, no matter the artist.
Each poem has its own voice, and is received in a unique way to each of us.
I see a lot of social media posts these days to generate awareness of mental illness and in fact, suicide prevention. A noble, but inherently sad effort.
When I read this poem, I thought of those people. Those who have lost, and those who are lost.
THE LAUGHING HEART
your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.
— by Charles Bukowski
