Day 58 of Phase 5: Inclement Weather, Poetry Month, Poetic Ultimate Fantasy Yo-Yo Diet, And A Spur o' Da Moment Diet Haiku...Cause Along with Finding My Inner Non-Fatty, I Need to Reconnect With My Inner Christina Rossetti....

It's been ugly up in da sky. Walking may have to be nixed. Well, outdoor walking (which I really like now). Indoor walking is always possible with Ms. Sansone. So, that may be my default today.

I so love the rustle of palm fronds. That's the best thing this lousy weather has offered today. Well, and the lawn and flowers like moisture. :)

April showers...yep. That's today.

April is also National Poetry Month. And reading poetry on rainy days is...well...perfect, yes?

I find it sad that poetry is not appreciated as it should be. I have had amazing transcendent moments reading poetry. There are certain things that can put me in that transcendent state--prayer, music, intense bursts of love-feelings, and beautiful passages of literature. Poetry, by virtue of its specific qualities and emphases (rhythm, alliteration, assonance, arrangement, rhyme, half-rhyme, even SHAPE) is the type of literature most prone to do whatever it is that happens int he human brain that takes you to that glimmering, timeless transcendent experience.

I don't know why it happens, what connections within the brain tissue, what neural firings, what levels of memories and feelings, but some poems bring me as close to orgasm as it gets without being physically touched.

And even when I don't reach transcendence, I can get an immense pleasure just from things beautifully stated and gorgeously arranged.

So, yeah, I like poetry. :)

I used to write it often and, if I do say so myself, and as some others (published and award-winning poets) have said, not too shabbily. But I stopped writing poetry several years ago. And I stopped writing my fiction 3 years ago. And I don't like that this happened. But it did. Something in me shut down, dried up, and got fearful. I was on the verge of leveling up in my writing, becoming even better and getting noticed (by editors and other writers) and it freaked my neurotic self.

So, part of getting healthy is not just my body. But my body and my creative spirit. I want to be full of powerful images and beautiful phrases again.

I hope you take time to read poetry this month. I don't care if you go for light-hearted, emotional lyric, long-winded epic, evocatively brief haiku. Just read some and see if you find a special well of feeling and thought and, hey, maybe even transcendence.

Since this is a weight loss blog, and I last was writing speculative poetry (science fiction, fantasy, horror), I offer this fantasy/mythic poem with a touch of humor and a dark truth about dieting, to boot: The Phoenix Diet.

You may read one of my SF poems here.

You may read one of my fave classic poets here: Christina Rossetti
Three of my fave modern (but deceased) poets here: Elizabeth Bishop
and Denise Levertov  and Edith Sodergran.

Poets alive today I value: Carolyn Forche, Catherine Sasanov, Samantha Henderson, Bruce Boston, Mike Allen, Joe Haldeman. (Google em; all the poets after Sasanov are known for SF Poetry.)

I remember years and years ago, when I happened upon a poem by Sodergran--of whom I had NEVER heard of in all my years of reading poetry and being a top English student--and I was ravished. But I could not find her books. I had to resort to frequent web searches and eventually got two. They are easier to get these days, but man, how frustrating when you find a voice that suits you and it is hidden away.

You might also google up Yevgeny Yevtushenko (the first book of poetry I ever bought for myself, not an anthology, but a poet's collection, was his, when I was 16 on a trip to NYC), Pablo Neruda, Rainer Maria Rilke,  and Anna Akhmatova.  So many. Well...the interwebs is a treasure trove. Explore.

Any fave poets you'd like to recommend?

So, timer is set, and I'm giving myself 2 minutes to come up with a quickie dieter haiku. Maybe you wanna try it, too? Why not? I am primarily intersted in spiritual and speculative genres (faith meets fiction, especially fantasy and sci-fi), so I will assume I'll head that way. Here goes:

Spacebound in springtime:
Within the ship, I'm weightless.
At last, diet-free...

Eh. Could be better. But not bad for impromptu. My first line, before I erased it, was "heading for heaven", cause I wanted to make the spiritual connection of dropping one's weights (burdens, sins, etc) on the way UPward. But, wanted to stick with the SF and add the seasonal element (though it's weird to have it in space). I like the sibilance and the rhythm. And the "wheeeee" happy sound of "freeeeee". :D I can picture a woman spinning in zero-G with joy and NOT WEIGHING ANYTHING! hahahaha

Go on, give it a shot.

And let me know if you find a poem to absolutely, totally love this National Poetry Month.

Eat well, move well, READ well..and be well...