Love fiercely with all your might;
have faith in your love even when it is clumsy or grows faint;
hope when there is no reason to hope—no matter what. . .for
hope is neither wistful nor wishful, but is
clear-hearted and mindful
partaking of the Divine.
I write this in gratitude for the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who is still dreaming hope into souls black and white,
male and female,
child and adult,
parent and child,
able and disabled,
employed and unemployed
young and old,
gay and straight,
rich and poor—for better for worse.
AMEN
Showing posts with label Hope/Love/Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hope/Love/Faith. Show all posts
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Sunday, June 2, 2013
2013.06.02 Hooking a Soul
I’ve always thought that the arts offer a special perspective, somehow able to transcend in-your-face reality without discounting or prettying it. All great arts transmit faith, hope and love, these three—and the greatest of these is hope, light as a feather and just as profound.
But shouldn't the greatest be love as St. Paul said in I Corinthians 13? Only if that love is God's.
Poet Frank Bidart, according to a Poets and Writers (May/June, 2013) interview, admits to a potent distrust of love, as if it would win out in the end. A quote from his 2013 book Metaphysical Dog, describes his disillusion, and has been true of his own life:
“As a boy you despised the world for replacing
God with another addiction, love.”
Bidart is “skeptical” that romantic love can validate one’s life but admits that all love is saying yes to something. He says yes to art. “It’s the closest thing to God I have found. Art is the way I have survived.”
Here is one of Bidart's poems that exemplifies the saving power of the art of poetry and acting: (Ennis Del Mar is the main character in Annie Proulx’s short story “Brokeback Mountain” and Heath Ledger is the actor who so superbly played Del Mar in the movie.)
“Poem Ending With a Sentence by Heath Ledger”
Each grinding flattened American vowel smashed to
centerlessness, his glee that whatever long ago mutilated his
mouth, he mastered to mutilate
you: the Joker’s voice so unlike
the bruised, withheld, wounded voice of Ennis Del Mar.
Once I have the voice
that’s the line
and at
the end
of the line
is a hook
and attached
to that
is the soul.
But shouldn't the greatest be love as St. Paul said in I Corinthians 13? Only if that love is God's.
Poet Frank Bidart, according to a Poets and Writers (May/June, 2013) interview, admits to a potent distrust of love, as if it would win out in the end. A quote from his 2013 book Metaphysical Dog, describes his disillusion, and has been true of his own life:
“As a boy you despised the world for replacing
God with another addiction, love.”
Bidart is “skeptical” that romantic love can validate one’s life but admits that all love is saying yes to something. He says yes to art. “It’s the closest thing to God I have found. Art is the way I have survived.”
Here is one of Bidart's poems that exemplifies the saving power of the art of poetry and acting: (Ennis Del Mar is the main character in Annie Proulx’s short story “Brokeback Mountain” and Heath Ledger is the actor who so superbly played Del Mar in the movie.)
“Poem Ending With a Sentence by Heath Ledger”
Each grinding flattened American vowel smashed to
centerlessness, his glee that whatever long ago mutilated his
mouth, he mastered to mutilate
you: the Joker’s voice so unlike
the bruised, withheld, wounded voice of Ennis Del Mar.
Once I have the voice
that’s the line
and at
the end
of the line
is a hook
and attached
to that
is the soul.
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