National Poetry Month 2020 Day 7: “Praise” & “What is My Body?”

[p.c. Lise Blackford]

Sometimes poetry is an outlet for strong emotion, a way to process trying times, a coping skill for the traumas of life.
Other times it is a place to celebrate pure joy, to count our blessings, to revel in gratitude. 

Praise

By Rainer Maria Rilke

O tell us, poet, what do you do?--I praise.

But those dark, deadly, devastating ways,

How do you bear them, suffer them?--I praise.

And then the Nameless, beyond guess or gaze,

How do you call it, conjure it?--I praise.

And whence your right, in every kind of maze,

In every mask, to remain true?--I praise.

And that the mildest and the wildest ways

Know you like a star and storm?--Because,

I praise.

In the spirit of praise, I meditate on my own body in the following work-in-progress. Started years
ago, I like to re-visit it and see how my perception has evolved.

What is my body?

By Blythe Stephens

An instrument of expression

Beautiful movement language

A tool I use

And you too

For pleasure and warmth and truth

An attractive force

Decoration, Manipulation, 

Exploration

It walks, skips, dances, leaps,

Rides, catches the tides

Climbs, curls

Embraces, ever closer…

Senses delight and pain

Exudes myself, irrepressibly

Smiles, speaks, kisses

Peers and yearns

Reaches, clutches

Draws in, Presses out

Expresses

Impresses

Dresses

Then passes on

It’s been a week of poetry on my blog, both my own and that of my favorite authors. How are you enjoying
National Poetry Month, what are you doing to celebrate. If you’re reading this, I would appreciate knowing
what you think. Let me know in the comments or by DM on social media!