How does a poem get where it is going?

I got an email from my friend Gay today. Did she know--all the way out there on the left coast--that I was missing Billy? How on earth could she know that? And yet she did, and sent a link to this wonderful video of The Man Himself.

And after you've gotten your Billy fix there, talking about poetry, looking right at you, you can hear him read two poems here and here, that last one a favorite of mine, about a lanyard.

Comments

[Kikipotamus the Hobo]

Aw, doesn't he have a nice smile? Thank you for linking to the interview and readings. I love the ending of the angel poem.

[aurora fox]

all I can say is WOW! and thanks...;-)

[n.b.]

Thank you for introducing us! He's amazing. I'm curious as to why you are missing him particularly. Did he recently die?

[Dawn]

As he was talking, I was nodding or found myself finishing sentences to questions about poetry I have always found hard to explain to others. How does it come about? why do you do it. How do you write a poem. He is direct, simple and well, right.

[Rick]

I love this, from the interview:
"It's starting out not knowing where you are going, and figuring out how to get there."

What a simple, yet rich description! The guy cannot help but be poetic even when he is answering questions off the cuff.

I had not read the angel poem, and that's a wonderful way to come to know one of Billy's poems: seeing him read it.

So far, Patti, you have sold me on poetry...as long as it is Billy's. It's a start.

[Liesl]

My sound is broken! How heart wrenching! Because, like you, I am an enormous Billy fan. And here I am - looking at his face - watching it move and not being able to hear a thing. Oh - Tech Support - come quick! I am needing a Billy fix!

Thank you for always sharing - and for putting words to the adoration of Billy that some of us foster and are shy to proclaim...

I'm looking forward to coming back and listening when my computer is my friend again. Today - we are at odds.

Take care!

[Anna]

Thanks for this. I went over to big think and listened to him talk about "how to smash a moment."

[Betsy]

"How does a poem get where it's going?" instead of "What does this poem mean?" Wow. Makes me wonder if I would enjoy poems more today if I'd gotten the first question rather than the second in the Lit. classes I took in high school and college. Always thought I just wasn't one of those people who "got" poetry.

[patti digh]

Kikipotamus the Hobo - aw...he *does* have a nice smile and those crinkly eyes I love...

Aurora - I'm with you - wow!

n.b. - Ooh, don't even think it. Take it back! He's alive and well and I have a secret (or, um, perhaps not so secret) crush on him, so I was just joking about how much I miss him, as if we are close friends, which, of course, we must be...Smile. Don't we make a fine couple up there on the blog side by side like that? Don't get me started... ;-)

Dawn - sometimes it is comforting (and affirming) to have someone say exactly what we feel but have not been able to say, isn't it?

Rick - that's absolutely one of my favorite lines from the interview, too. It's Billy all the way. Not a bad poet to linger on...

Liesl - oh, my. Get thee to Kinko's with headphones. Go to a neighbor's in your bathrobe and plead. Can't wait until you can add sound to the visual! As a poet yourself, you really will love what he has to say. Though I, oddly, enjoy just seeing him look straight into the camera. There's something so...candid and unblinking about it.

Anna - I'll have to run over there to see what else I can find - thanks for mentioning that!

Betsy - Indeed. That's such a big, important point - don't you wish we all had literature teachers with that point of view? I think we would all be into poetry much more than we are, if those were the kinds of questions we were asking ourselves...

[Donna (S)]

Patti, I just love the juxtaposition of your face next to Billy's. You have a look of such a thoughtfully gentle concentration, your eyes softly reflect the quiet evocations of your feeling, and light shines brilliantly on your throat chakra leaving one to scoot to the edge of her seat, eyebrows raised, waiting for the very words you will udder (pun intended)and then, there are none.........great cacklings to you, Donna

[patti digh]

Donna S - you really really made me laugh. And how could I ever put up another post when doing so will forever push Billy's face far from mine, what with my shining chakra and all?

Rick and Betsy - back to your comments...what if, it has occurred to me here late at night, what if we lived our lives as if Billy wasn't just talking about poetry, but about life itself? That is, what if life is "starting out not knowing where you are going, and figuring out how to get there." And what if the question we keep asking ourselves--"what is the meaning of life?" is as wrong a question as "what is the meaning of that poem?" What if the real question is "how does a life get where it's going?"

[nina]

patti, one of your devoted readers led me to your blog here, and the entry about billy. i thought you might be interested in reading of my (lengthy account, what can i say) recent workshop in key west with him, and how it affected me. written from my heart, it exposes ALL of my feelings about the experience. actually, there are two entries - part one and part two.
he is a sweetheart, with a twist.

http://ornamental.typepad.com/ornamental/2008/01/key-west-where.html

[dancing kitchen]

Patti,
I can see why he speaks to your heart. Thank you for sharing. He is just as effective in person as he is in his writing. Sometimes it just doesn't fit...the face/voice/words don't seem to come from the same place.
He fits beautifully.

[jylene]

wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!
thanks for sharing this reading--
'the lanyard' is on of my favorites!