I’m reading an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson titled The Poet written in 1844.
Here’s the main argument: Poets are called upon to write honestly about the world. If they can manage this, we can hold on to our humanity.
There’s a specific passage that reads, “He (The Poet) is isolated among his contemporaries by truth and by his art…For all men live by truth and stand in need of expression. In love, in art, in avarice, in politics, in labor, in games, we study to utter our painful secret. The man is only half himself, the other half is his expression” (Emerson 243).
Emerson wanted poets to utter our painful secret. I love that line. What’s our painful secret? It might be different for all of us. We each have a darkness that we carry. But, perhaps he’s speaking about a universal secret. I think he’s referring to the fact that being human is complicated and hard.
I don’t think the job description of a poet has changed all that much. We could use a little more poetry in our lives. I just went to breakfast with a good friend who has started writing poetry to help him navigate a difficult challenge in his life.
And I love him for it.
If you’re ready to uncover and explore your humanness, consider writing a poem about what you feel. It doesn’t have to rhyme and it doesn’t have to contend with Shakespeare’s sonnets. It simply has to be honest.
How can you be honest in a poem? Do your best to utter your “painful secret” and let your poem bring you relief.
If you want to read Emerson’s essay, you can find it here.
Until tomorrow, read slowly – take notes – and apply the ideas.
-Eddy
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Works Cited
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, et al. The Portable Emerson. Rev. ed, Penguin, 1981.
