#273: Poems that spark joy

Good evening, dear stranger,

I started today reading Mary Oliver’s Summer Morning, and want to evoke the spirit of returning to oneself before we begin the newsletter.

My favorite lines:
Heart,
I implore you,
it’s time to come back
from the dark

There’s so many things I’ve been doing since the last newsletter that I couldn’t decide what to focus on today. Instead, I’m sharing a few highlights:

I went hiking with Wilderness Ways, which reconnects you to nature through unique outdoor experiences. Here’s the view from a cave we explored. ^

I was at a lovely farm near Pune yesterday for a collaboration that’s brewing. Can’t wait to tell you all about it soon!

Sharing my love for letters at Museum of Art and Photography, Bangalore, as part their new exhibition Hello & Goodbye: Postcards from the Early 20th Century

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Poetry Corner

5 poems that sparked joy 🙆🏻‍♀️

Art by the wonderful Haley Tippmann

1. April by Mary Oliver

   I wanted to speak at length about
   the happiness of my body and the
   delight of my mind for it was
   April, a night, a
   full moon and –

   but something in myself or maybe
   from somewhere other said: not too
   many words, please, in the
   muddy shallows the

   
   Frogs are singing.

2. Words from the Front by Ron Padgett

   We don’t look as young
   as we used to
   except in the dim light
   especially in
   the soft warmth of candlelight
   when we say
   in all sincerity
   You’re so cute
   and
   You’re my cutie.
   Imagine
   two old people
   behaving like this.
   It’s enough
   to make you happy.

3. For love of joy by Laree Kiely (Excerpt)
   For the love of joy, I make conscious choices
   I know darkness exists
   God knows I know
   Don’t ignore it or deny it
   When that darkness hijacks me
   The contrast is so shocking and startling that it takes me by surprise
   It’s so strong, I have trouble digging my way out of the abyss
   But I am wired for joy
   For reasons I don’t understand
   (Read the full poem here.)

4. The Uses of Poetry by Harvey Shapiro

   This was a day when I did nothing,
   aside from reading the newspaper,
   taking both breakfast and lunch by myself
   in the kitchen, dozing after lunch
   until the middle of the afternoon. Then
   I read one poem by Zbigniew Herbert
   in which he thanked God for the many beautiful
   things in this world, in a voice so absurdly
   truthful, the entire wrecked day was redeemed.

5. Manifesto by Margot Schilpp 

   I know that dying is how we escape
   the rest of our lives. I think that trees
   send us a message: do not believe
   you are lucky. The skins of apples
   and the peeler will marry; it’s simply
   a question of when. Believe
   in mourning and carrion birds.
   Look how their fleshy treasures
   dissolve in the sun before their very eyes.
   To love something
   you must have considered what it means
   to do without. You must have thought
   about it—the coefficient of the body
   is another body—but do not forget
   that there are people who are willing
   to staple your palm to your chest.
   Know there are places it isn’t wise to go.
   Begin again if you must: there are ways
   to make up for what you have been before,
   the dust in the corners that collects you.
   Sympathy is overrated.
   Rethink how lack
   becomes everyone’s master, drives us
   into town and spends our money.
   Quiet: the trees are napping.
   Water meets itself again.
   We reach for the days that precede us
   and the world keeps us from knowing
   too much. The body loves music,
   the abandoned road of it;
   each day a peel
   lengthens in the shadow of blossoms,
   fabric weaves itself into light.
   Pay attention to the patterns. They repeat—
   terraces erode, groves lie fallow—
   order is cognate of joy.

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Recommended Listening

Prepping my April playlist to set the mood for my 10-day self-imposed summer residency in Goa from Thursday. Happy listening!

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Links of the Week

• Pust: An ancient festival to chase away winter

• The Day I Couldn’t Write a Poem

• I made some new zines!

• Proto-typography: how type is dictated by the surface it’s written on

• Alien Aesthetics

• Into the world of Habibi Funk

• Grounded: French flower farmer Clément Bouteille roots his philosophies on life in connecting with nature

• CANYONLANDS

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Goa Poetry Workshop Alert

Thrilled to announce my upcoming poetry workshop in Goa at the lovely Prose Patisserie and Cafe, Goa on April 21st, 4pm to 6pm. 🍰📝

I’ll be spending 10 days in Moira from Thursday, and hope to pick up local cues and prompts to include in the workdshop, which is designed to make poetry accessible to all. Please reply/DM @thealiporepost to sign up. 🙆🏻‍♀️☕️

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Parting words

A reminder from Co-Star before I send this out into the world:

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May you fall in love with the world,
Rohini