Seeing The Bigger Picture In The Details
Finding the mystery in your poems as you write.
“To see the world in a grain of sand…” — William Blake
A poet’s eyes are of enormous importance. They must have their sight focused on eternity. The big picture. We are after all interpreters of language.
Sure, we can drill down to minute detail, and that is important. But it is a starting point, and our eyes must be open wide to bigger things.
Scientists can look at the smallest of molecules, but when they speak of water, for instance, they have started with smaller elements. Oxygen atoms and Hydrogen atoms. Therefor they are looking at small and then growing big in their thought process.
A poem may look at a flower and see its beauty condensed before his or her eyes. But as the poet looks up and outward beyond the starting point of the view of the flower, a whole field with flowers can come into view, and another whole layer of beauty, or symmetry, or even mystery.
How many times do I start a poem and not know the ending? Plenty. In fact, most of the time. But I must be observant enough to see the poem unfold before me, and in that vein take me to some conclusion, even if temporary. After all, there is a school of thought. that…
