Writing | Poetry

My Poetry Biography — Joe Luca

Illumination Poetry Club

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood; For nothing now can ever come to any good. W.H. Auden — Last Stanza, Funeral Blues

I could fill several pages with the sentiments said in these 36 words, trying to capture the same feelings, the same sense of loss and still end up a few pages short of getting it done.

This is why I love poetry.

It says so much with so few words, that come alive and animate the emotions in an almost human way. Cupping our faces, whispering softly so only we can hear them. Letting us slip into another world where brevity is prized and imagination rewarded.

Poems are to literature, what ants are to structural engineering and determination.

They excel beyond their means and elevate our hearts and minds without the effort most other forms of writing demand.

WHY I WRITE POEMS

I had been agonizing over the days leading up to the election on November 3; considering all the what if scenarios and doing a great job of putting myself into a rather dark and unruly place. So, I wrote this poem about being a little kinder to myself and this is how it started.

I put my mind to bed last night and gently tucked it in. And tried to keep the world at bay and the hurt from creeping in. Joe Luca

Poems are therapy. A way to download the hurt and pain and anxiety that our world sometimes create and grounding it to the earth. Allowing all the emotions to dissipate, leaving us feeling a little more renewed, a little more hopeful. And it’s relatively inexpensive as well. Always a plus in trying times.

WHEN I STARTED

I started writing poetry when I was in my teens. An effort on my part to keep the mind from spiraling out of control, while learning a bit more about myself in the process.

It was a time of civil unrest in this country, the Vietnam War and conscription looming ahead. When people were checking out through drugs or indifference and life was interesting, in a breezy chaotic and unmanageable sort of way.

Poetry helped me to cope and keep the world in perspective. It still does.

Poetry helps us focus on what’s important. Not just to us but to everyone. Keeps us from getting too selfish and too concerned with how we’re doing and opens our eyes and hearts to others around us.

I wrote this poem about Compassion — when I was wondering what life would be like without it.

Covid-19 was heating up in August, or had never slowed down — hard to sort it out at times. And I was feeling pushed and pulled by forces outside of my control — never a good thing, at the best of times. This resulted in a poem called Consequence.

Heat — bounces off the tarmac, like radio waves off the moon. Like lust from the sweating bodies of newlyweds at a Motel 6 in Omaha. Wrapped in cool comfort — A/C on — dreams subsiding, in transience as the future slams headlong into the present. Will it ever be this good again?

Poetry can be peaceful — a day at the beach. Pushing children on a swing. Or crammed with heartache and discomfort, as the world shakes, rattles and rolls and we’re left clinging to whatever’s nearby. It reflects our world, within and without.

It’s a lovely bit of magic that’s been used to quell the aches and pains of life for as long as words have been in business.

You should try it.

Join the ILLUMINATION Poetry Club and share what’s going on in your world. You’ll be glad you did.