Patti Smith

This morning I was reminded of why poets are so often misunderstood. This reminder came in the form of an innocent enough social media post where I shared the following words:

These are sentiments of a feeling I had for one single second – no longer than the blink of an eye or an intake of breath. The feeling surfaced. Followed by the awareness. Then I wrote about it. I felt it for a few more moments. Then it was gone. I didn’t dwell on it. I didn’t wallow in it. I didn’t self-flagellate over it. I felt it. I gave it a name. I gave the name a form. Then it was done.

But that was not how social media understood it. Many took my sharing to mean I was feeling badly or depressed. Some thought I was sad or hurting. Others shared words of comfort or support. I’m grateful for the expressions of support, but in that moment, I was really and truly fine. I was no longer feeling the feelings that sought form through my words. Perhaps these expressions of support were reflections of the senders’ own pain. Perhaps my words hit their own nerve. To these I offer support in return. But truly, I am fine.

Such is the life of a poet. The feelings of my words had passed. But there is truly no way for others to understand this. There is also no way that those who are not poetically inclined to understand the burning need to give expression to experience and words to what we feel. We just can’t help it. These experiences become a burning inside that has to be released. For a poet – this release comes in the form of words. Patti Smith once said, “To be an artist is to see what others cannot.” I would suggest being a poet is to feel what others cannot and then be compelled to put that into word.

I can’t speak for other poets, but I know for myself, in addition to having no choice but to give expression to experience, I am also compelled to send it off into the world. Not because I want pity or attention, but in case there are others who have shared this experience and perhaps don’t yet have words for it, or permission to feel it. I write so others might experience validation, comfort, assent, or even consent. I hope that in sharing my words I might be giving another what they need to better know and understand themselves. For what better purpose could a poet possibly live?

Lauri Ann Lumby is the author of eleven published books, including five volumes of poetry. You can find her books on Amazon.com and other online resellers.

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Over twenty-five years of doing the work I do in the world, and I still don’t know how to explain to people what I do! Recently I landed upon three words that at least approach the idea of how I function and how that leads to the work I do and the gifts I share in the world.

Poet: Patti Smith once said: “To be an artist is to see what others cannot.” This is how it is with me. I see the world and all of life’s experiences through a depth beyond normal sight. I look beyond appearances to the mystery wherein lies the signs and symbols revealing meaning. I see through my eyes, but more directly, through my feelings. I feel what I see and what is beyond what I see. Herein I seek the beauty beyond the tragedy and the death that lies beyond the veil of perceived beauty. All that glitters is not gold. THEN, I am compelled/forced to put what I see and feel into words. Whether poetry or prose, all that I write is poetic.

Poetic: having an imaginative or sensitively emotional style of expression.
(Oxford English Dictionary)

Prophet: Albert Nolan defines a prophet as “one who is able to see the signs of the times.” More specifically, Nolan says:

Prophets are people who speak out when others remain silent. They are watchful of the areas in need of reform in their own society, their own country, or their own religious institutions. True prophets are men and women who stand up and speak (or act) out about the practices of their own people and their own leaders – while others remain silent. True prophets are not part of the authority structure. Prophets are never appointed, ordained or anointed by the religious establishment. They experience a special calling that comes directly from God, and their message comes from their own personal experience of God.
(Jesus Today – a Spirituality of Radical Freedom (Orbis Books, 2008, pp. 63-67)

Guilty! If you have observed my work, my writing, my sharing, my community and global participation, you will agree. I speak what I see. I call out systems of injustice. I hold the world to the same standards I hold myself. AND I see where things are going and where we will end up if we continue along the current path.

Being a prophet is not like being a fortune teller. Instead, it is made up of the practices of deep observation, a knowledge and understanding of human behavior, and applying my own skills of reason and logic. Prophecy isn’t miraculous. Seeing prophetically is a skill accessible to anyone with eyes to see and the logic to comprehend what we are seeing. Being a prophet isn’t really any different than understanding that 1+1=2. The only difference is that being a prophet, we are compelled to speak what we see.

Priest: Calling myself priest is a tricky one, as the word and vocation itself has been corrupted beyond recognition and for centuries used to inflict all kinds of evils upon our world. In the pre-patriarchal traditions, a priest was a woman or man of the clan who were recognized as possessing certain gifts – gifts of healing, counsel, and teaching. The priest’s gifts came through a deep sensitivity to mystery and an ability to see, hear, and feel beyond the tangible world. The priest communed with the beyond and as such, was able to guide people during the transitory times of life – specifically: birth, growth, loss, and death. The priest was recognized as a leader and of great value to the clan, while being just one in the intimate workings of the community. The priest wasn’t above any other member of the tribe, but stood in circle with all the other gifts required to ensure the tribe’s survival and thrival.

If I claim to be priest, it is more in line with this pre-patriarchal imagining of priesthood and not at all like what we have come to know through institutional religion. Bottom line: I am here to serve humanity through the gifts that I have and the calling I’ve been given. It’s no wonder I’m the person people turn to when the shit hits the fan, the bottom falls out, and all other efforts have been exhausted. I jokingly say that I might be the Pastor of Oshkosh, but this is not far from the truth as many of my local community will attest.

Poet. Prophet Priest. Yeah. I can live with that and it’s the best I can do in a world where the work I do still defies definition!