A Word To My Reader
I am not a perfect voice calling out in the dark, but a broken voice calling out in the dark. I have not said anything perfectly, nor have I ever touched on perfection flawlessly. Every element I speak on found here will fall short on every degree because of the breadth and width of which the topic expands (both logically and emotionally). In fact the only thing I can come closest to in explaining perfectly would be my brokenness, because that, I know better than perfection. I can only try to speak about the glimpses of perfection I have seen in my life. Please bear that in mind as you read. I hope that these compositions can bring further light to the honest depths and heights that life teaches us about ourselves, the world around us, and the starter of this all, God.
As Phillip Lopate says, in reading this you will learn more about my “habits of thought” than the activities that actually make up my day to day. I do not assume that most will want to read any of this, but for the one who is feeling lost or confused, for the one who is trying to find reason to keep living, for the one who is fighting against himself, others, or his God, and desiring to better understand why, I hope these pieces of writing might be a friend to you. I hope they push you to press on, to appreciate living (and working), to appreciate the smallest of moments with a family member, close friend, or stranger. I hope they move you to explore and imagine, to find the “why” behind anything, and to trust that though we have a finite understanding, the One who is infinite has been made accessible to mankind. Mankind meaning you and me, and there is no small amount of peace to be found in that truth.
P.S. I attached a song to the bottom of each composition to accompany its reading. Enjoy!
A Word To My Favorite Artist—Responding To Your Whiteout
(April 27, 2021)
Recommended Song: anything from his “Whiteout”
When’d you stop making things that were beautiful?
Your scratching on the wall sounds more like screams in a void.
Did you lose hope in thinking you were saying something important?
Or maybe it’s the scratches that say something deeper than what I’d say I saw on the surface.
You were singing of something I couldn’t understand,
I couldn’t figure out if it was genius or if it was mad.
Was it the exploring that you talked about years ago that you’re doing now?
Carving out a new avenue for expression, a new vein for thinking and imagination?
Groundbreakers always feel a bit strange in the beginning.
After all, they’re breaking ground, and so maybe that’s what you’re creating.
The things you used to sing and say used to move me,
But now, the only thing I hear that resembles old is your latest “Rookery.”
But I guess you’re still doing something right,
Because I wrote this while listening to Richard Russell’s “Strange Last Flight.”