On weekly poems, scripture, inspiration
Jan. 30th, 2012 08:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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poetreeHello poetree folks!
I'm delighted to be hosting here this week. JJ invited me to talk about my own poetry, poetry in general, sacred vs. secular poetry, or anything I consider relevant/interesting to a group of poets and poetry enthusiasts. That's a wide net to cast, and I'm not sure I'll manage all of it, but I look forward to some conversations.
I thought I would start off by talking about one of the most successful writing experiments I've ever tried: writing a weekly poem in response to the Torah portion of the week.
It's traditional to read one section -- a "portion" or parasha -- of the Torah (Five Books of Moses) each week over the course of the year. When festivals and holidays roll around there are often special readings for those days, but otherwise, we read the whole Torah each year, starting with Genesis and ending with Deuteronomy and then beginning all over again.
Some years ago, when I was in rabbinic school, I began writing Torah poems each week: poems which arose in conversation with the Torah portion of the week. Each week I would read the Torah portion (in English and/or in Hebrew.) Sometimes I would meditate on it for a while before coming up with a poem idea; other times a poem idea would suggest itself immediately. Sometimes the text itself seemed to suggest the form the poem should take -- for instance, I wrote a lot of sestinas when we were reading Torah portions which relied heavily on repeated words.
I only had a few days to write and revise each week's poem. Before Shabbat rolled around, I would post the poem to my blog (Velveteen Rabbi -- also available as a dreamwidth feed) and get ready to move on to the next week's subject matter and the next week's poem. (You can see all of these poems, in the form in which each one was posted to the blog, on the VR Torah commentary index page.)
I wrote these poems for a few years. It was an awesome groove, once I got into it, and it became self-sustaining. My teacher David Lehman used to say that the best time to write a poem is when one has just written a poem -- as though writing a poem primed some kind of cosmic creative waterworks -- and I definitely found that to be true. I was on a roll. Not all of the poems were splendid, of course. And some required substantial revision. But the fact of writing a poem each week kept me feeling creative, and the fact of closely reading the Torah portion each week kept me feeling in-tune with the cycle of Biblical readings.
In 2010, I worked with editor Beth Adams of Phoenicia Publishing to edit a manuscript of the best of these poems; it was published a year ago. (70 faces -- you can buy it on the publisher's website or on Amazon, though Beth and I get a few more pennies if you buy the book through Phoenicia.) I'll share a Torah poem below, as well.
But before I share my own poem, I wanted to ask: have you ever tried anything like this? Do any of y'all write Torah poems or poems inspired by stories from scripture writ large?
If scripture isn't your cuppa, have you ever imagined writing a poem each week in response to a favorite tv show or other serial? (A Doonesbury poem each week? A Top Chef poem, a Doctor Who poem?) How do you think that writing the poem might change your relationship with the "text" at hand -- and how do you think that diving deep into the text might change your relationship with your poetry?
The poem I'm sharing here arises out of this week's Torah portion, and was originally published at my blog after I offered it aloud at my ordination. It's not in 70 faces, because my editor and I decided that a previous year's poem would offer a better balance for the other poems in the manuscript, but I still really like this one too, so here you go.
ENOUGH
"And Moses said to them, 'That is the bread which God has given you to eat. This is what God has commanded: Gather as much of it as each of you requires to eat.'" —Exodus 16:13
It’s hard to trust that there will be enough.
What if we run out of food
and when it’s gone we go hungry
unloved and unsatisfied?
What if we haven’t learned everything
and someone in the hospital asks for a prayer
we don’t know by heart? What if
we forget something that matters?
But this is the promise: the manna
never runs out, the wellspring of Torah
never runs dry. Tomorrow
our hills will again be graced with dew.
Taste the sweetness of our teachers’ words
like coriander seed, like wafers in honey.
And the more we share this Torah
the more there is to eat.
Take what you need.
Eat, and bless, and be satisfied.
Trust that we can handle whatever’s coming.
Manna lies all around. Open your eyes and see.
poetree folks!I'm delighted to be hosting here this week. JJ invited me to talk about my own poetry, poetry in general, sacred vs. secular poetry, or anything I consider relevant/interesting to a group of poets and poetry enthusiasts. That's a wide net to cast, and I'm not sure I'll manage all of it, but I look forward to some conversations.
I thought I would start off by talking about one of the most successful writing experiments I've ever tried: writing a weekly poem in response to the Torah portion of the week.
It's traditional to read one section -- a "portion" or parasha -- of the Torah (Five Books of Moses) each week over the course of the year. When festivals and holidays roll around there are often special readings for those days, but otherwise, we read the whole Torah each year, starting with Genesis and ending with Deuteronomy and then beginning all over again.
Some years ago, when I was in rabbinic school, I began writing Torah poems each week: poems which arose in conversation with the Torah portion of the week. Each week I would read the Torah portion (in English and/or in Hebrew.) Sometimes I would meditate on it for a while before coming up with a poem idea; other times a poem idea would suggest itself immediately. Sometimes the text itself seemed to suggest the form the poem should take -- for instance, I wrote a lot of sestinas when we were reading Torah portions which relied heavily on repeated words.
I only had a few days to write and revise each week's poem. Before Shabbat rolled around, I would post the poem to my blog (Velveteen Rabbi -- also available as a dreamwidth feed) and get ready to move on to the next week's subject matter and the next week's poem. (You can see all of these poems, in the form in which each one was posted to the blog, on the VR Torah commentary index page.)
I wrote these poems for a few years. It was an awesome groove, once I got into it, and it became self-sustaining. My teacher David Lehman used to say that the best time to write a poem is when one has just written a poem -- as though writing a poem primed some kind of cosmic creative waterworks -- and I definitely found that to be true. I was on a roll. Not all of the poems were splendid, of course. And some required substantial revision. But the fact of writing a poem each week kept me feeling creative, and the fact of closely reading the Torah portion each week kept me feeling in-tune with the cycle of Biblical readings.
In 2010, I worked with editor Beth Adams of Phoenicia Publishing to edit a manuscript of the best of these poems; it was published a year ago. (70 faces -- you can buy it on the publisher's website or on Amazon, though Beth and I get a few more pennies if you buy the book through Phoenicia.) I'll share a Torah poem below, as well.
But before I share my own poem, I wanted to ask: have you ever tried anything like this? Do any of y'all write Torah poems or poems inspired by stories from scripture writ large?
If scripture isn't your cuppa, have you ever imagined writing a poem each week in response to a favorite tv show or other serial? (A Doonesbury poem each week? A Top Chef poem, a Doctor Who poem?) How do you think that writing the poem might change your relationship with the "text" at hand -- and how do you think that diving deep into the text might change your relationship with your poetry?
The poem I'm sharing here arises out of this week's Torah portion, and was originally published at my blog after I offered it aloud at my ordination. It's not in 70 faces, because my editor and I decided that a previous year's poem would offer a better balance for the other poems in the manuscript, but I still really like this one too, so here you go.
ENOUGH
"And Moses said to them, 'That is the bread which God has given you to eat. This is what God has commanded: Gather as much of it as each of you requires to eat.'" —Exodus 16:13
It’s hard to trust that there will be enough.
What if we run out of food
and when it’s gone we go hungry
unloved and unsatisfied?
What if we haven’t learned everything
and someone in the hospital asks for a prayer
we don’t know by heart? What if
we forget something that matters?
But this is the promise: the manna
never runs out, the wellspring of Torah
never runs dry. Tomorrow
our hills will again be graced with dew.
Taste the sweetness of our teachers’ words
like coriander seed, like wafers in honey.
And the more we share this Torah
the more there is to eat.
Take what you need.
Eat, and bless, and be satisfied.
Trust that we can handle whatever’s coming.
Manna lies all around. Open your eyes and see.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 05:40 pm (UTC)And I like your idea. Perhaps I'll add that sort of thing to my third round of 101 in 1001...
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 05:58 pm (UTC)And oh, cool; I'd never heard of 101 in 1001, but having now done a quick google search, I am delighted by the notion. (I'm impressed that you're on to your third round.)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 11:23 pm (UTC)But yeah, I keep wanting to get more poetry written, so maybe something like this will help...
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 07:49 pm (UTC)I think writing a poem weekly is a wonderful idea, I may steal it away ;)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 07:54 pm (UTC)And yes, please, do feel free to run with the idea of a weekly poem! Write them and post them and write more. The more, the merrier, really. :-)
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 08:37 pm (UTC)---L.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 11:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 11:37 pm (UTC)---L.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 11:22 pm (UTC)Your poem "Enough" is lovely. I understand it much better than the section it corresponds to. Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2012-01-30 11:30 pm (UTC)And thank you for the kind words; I'm glad the poem spoke to you.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-01 09:36 pm (UTC)Thank you for the offer! Luckily my roommate is a bat mitzvah, so she should be able to explain to me what it means. It is part of my heritage as well, so I should have some understanding of it. I'll send you a message via Dreamwidth perhaps in the next week, though, because written word is easier for me to refer back to.
Poem comment
Date: 2012-01-31 10:16 pm (UTC)Re: Poem comment
Date: 2012-02-01 12:07 pm (UTC)Torah the food of life
Date: 2012-02-01 08:34 am (UTC)Mother the Rabbi Rachael,
Shalom thanks for inspiration.Your statement is clear for those who wants to know because Torah is actually the greatest food of life.
yours sincerely
victor fatherheart consoler
Re: Torah the food of life
Date: 2012-02-01 12:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-01 09:59 am (UTC)Kristin Berkey-Abbott
www.kristinberkey-abbott.com
no subject
Date: 2012-02-01 12:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-01 08:05 pm (UTC)I love your questions too. I've... I think the only poems I've written in response to things have been poems I wrote to melodies, but they might not count. I'm not sure. Going by your example here, though, it strikes me as a beautiful way to gain insight into the piece you're responding to. ^_^ I'd imagine that writing poems in response to things myself would help me put my thoughts into a more coherent set of words.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-03 01:11 pm (UTC)I've definitely found that writing poems in response to existing texts has helped me relate to the texts in a deeper and more comprehensive way. (I definitely think writing poems in response to melodies "counts" -- I would love to see one of those poems, if you're open to sharing.)
no subject
Date: 2012-02-03 09:43 pm (UTC)I'm afraid I lost all of the poems I wrote to melodies in crashes over the years. They weren't very good, though, so I don't mind. ^_^ (Actually, I've lost most of my poetry. I never did keep proper records of them.)
Wow!
Date: 2012-02-03 08:49 am (UTC)The poem is beautiful too, so full of things specific to the tradition, like the mention of coriander.
I spent several years writing a poem a day, in junior high and high school -- weekdays, and sometimes on the weekend too. It really was a good exercise.
My spiritual poetry tends to come out when I need it. I've written a lot of liturgy for Pagan rituals, and batches of poems for the Llewellyn annuals, all kinds of different stuff. More rarely I write poetry specific to other religions; I've done Judaism and Christianity and Buddhism and so forth.
Re: Wow!
Date: 2012-02-03 01:10 pm (UTC)A poem a day for several years -- that is impressive.
I'd be interested in seeing some of your liturgy for Pagan rituals. (Do you know the website http://www.peelapom.com/? Ketzirah does fascinating Jewish-Pagan crossover work.)
Re: Wow!
Date: 2012-02-03 05:53 pm (UTC)http://greenhaventradition.weebly.com/sabbats.html
A bunch of my Pagan poems appear in the Poetry section:
http://greenhaventradition.weebly.com/poetry.html
Re: Wow!
Date: 2012-02-03 05:55 pm (UTC)http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/172109.html