Arts& Entertainment
The Apple Orchard by Eric Muse Murr
Arts& Entertainment
THE CASE
FORPOETRY
More than Rhyme and Meter, a Good Poem Delves into the Rich, Complex Intensities of Life.
“ When we pay attention to the world long enough, wakefully, lovingly enough, we realize that everything in the world is sacred, that this whole world is a poem, or a million poems, just waiting for us to write them down.”
— Michael Sowder, winner of the T. S. Eliot prize for Poetry, in“ This Whole World is a Poem”
by Eric Muse Murr
Do you really think you’ re the same person you were in high school? Haven’ t you been hurt more? Loved more? Isn’ t the world a little more wild and wonderful? Aren’ t you just a little bit wiser?
Will you take another look at poetry? It so often gets a bad rap because most of our experiences with it occurred when we were too young to appreciate it, or by way of reading a random greeting card and wincing at an example of bad poetry.( This is not good poetry; it’ s marketing).
A good poem grasps the essence of a powerful moment and tells its story honestly, honorably, and with great beauty. It strips away an entire universe of possible words and chooses an essential, lyrical few. A good poem is a noble witness to a special and irreplaceable feeling or event.
You may have not liked wine or sushi as a young person, but perhaps now you do. Indeed, the richer and more complex the tastes, the less we were able enjoy them when we are young. And good poetry is often all about complexity and intensity. It is this complexity that gives it depth and beauty.
All great art strives to express ideals and the deeper nature of things. In my opinion, poetry is well matched stylistically as an art form because it offers us a powerful tool to express life’ s deeper realities— for these deeper realities are complex.
And if you are reading these words, you, too, have this powerful tool at your disposal. The pen. Language. Something most everyone understands. To be a poet, unlike a musician, or painter, you must only recognize, and employ, the power of words, something you use every day. As a poet, or poetry lover, you will come to see how powerful words are when they are paired or juxtaposed.
Read some Mary Oliver, e. e. cummings, Rumi or Wallace Stevens again for the first time. It may be complex, but that’ s the point— just as a wonderful chardonnay is layered and balanced. Your tastes have changed, and so have you. So drink it in … §
Eric Muse Murr has been writing poetry for more than 30 years, and is a graduate of IUP with BA degrees in philosophy and English. He has been the general sales manager for Kegerreis Outdoor Advertising for more than 10 years, and has sold billboard advertising for more than 20. When asked how he goes about writing a poem, he will tell you he simply listens really closely to the universe. It always has something powerful and beautiful to say. Follow him on Twitter @ ThePoetMuse, or catch his blog at http:// bigpicture. kegerreis. com.
The Apple Orchard by Eric Muse Murr
The apple orchard, in winter, is a crippled crowd, hell bent, with its gnarled call to arms.
It urgently calls the spring, in a silent march—’ tis marionettes, on strings, lovers, portraits, in a desperate wait, begging to release to bloom.
We all stand steady in this ready repose,’ til joy returns, and warm wind blows.
For we are not lost, just still. Are red delicious, every season, every seed, through winter’ s frost,’ til freed.
Hagerstown: The Best of Life in Washington County & Beyond May / June 2013 51