Lots has happened since last we poemed. There was a lunar eclipse, warmer weather, daylight saving time. The energy has shifted dramatically. Winter’s hamster wheel finally released me and I’m regaining my agency. What about you?
Today we find the poems because the poems are what elevate the ordinary to the marvelous.
“I am an excitable person who only understands life lyrically, musically, in whom feelings are much stronger as reason. I am so thirsty for the marvelous that only the marvelous has power over me. Anything I can not transform into something marvelous, I let go.”
Anais Nin
1. Tomatoes in the sun
Forgive me for my late response. I was busy taking pictures of tomatoes in the sun.
2. Commercials
Hate to say it but I actually look forward to being moved by a commercial. All commercials feature real actors with real aspirations. I feel bad ignoring them, so when I’m feeling generous I give them my full attention. My favorite commercial actor is a man named Aflamu Johnson who I first saw in a DriveTime ad. He delivers his line—an unhinged “I feel strong!”—with such all-in passion and doesn’t hold back on contorting his face for humor. Imagine mustering that much enthusiasm for—what is DriveTime again? I dunno, I’m just rooting for Aflamu.
Last Wednesday when I was attending church (i.e. watching Survivor live) a new commercial won me over. A group of elderly women are on a road trip, all inhibitions dropped, to the tune of “Born to be Wild.”
“This better not be for gum or something,” I muttered to Jake while we waited for the punchline.
In the last seconds, the ladies catch some air in their black convertible. A cup of tea goes flying and splashes all over a spill-proof WeatherTech floor mat.
It was just relevant enough for me to find it clever rather than annoying. A minute later I got a text from Sonja confirming my judgment, our synchronicity alone a poem.
3. Listening to records
4. Noah Kalina’s newsletter
I don’t remember how I came upon photographer Noah Kalina’s newsletter, but I’m glad my past-self subscribed. Each issue he shares a photo series of small, mundane moments that struck him in some way. He’s described it as “transforming everyday observations into visual stories, and finding meaning in the ordinary.” It’s a newsletter of visual poems, and one I almost always open.
5. The way people walk up to the ocean
Some of them run, some of them saunter. Eyes on the horizon, a drift towards the edge.