Decoding the Universe

One poem at a time.

Decoding the Universe (one poem at a time)

For every star you see
and cannot see
there are several planets
spinning

You're on one now
looking out
from a periphery
amongst peripheries

Every node a center
flowing out & slowly
returning

"Nothing is forever", you sigh--
while time collapses
into the thin skin
around your tired eyes.

[Written while watching "Decoding the Universe: Cosmos" from NOVA]

(nothin’ fancy!)

A prompt for you…

What does a person who doesn’t mess with social media do with all their free time??? Why, write poetry while watching NOVA specials on PBS, of course!

Honestly, this is what I like to do to de-stim and turn my brain “off” at the end of the day— which is to say, turn my brain sideways for a little while to see where it ends up…

Just like dropping deeply into an environment to write a poem-with-place, or opening your attention to the subtle and surprising stories in a work of art, I’ve come to expect that any time we start watching a documentary, some idea is gonna get me going… so I prepare for that:

Notebook & pen at the ready!

Now, maybe your teevee zone-out brain candy isn’t NOVA documentaries (?????), but this works just as well with Fboy Island or whatever, I guarantee.

So, try this sometime this week— either with the NOVA I linked to here, or with the moving picture entertainment of your choice:

1. Open to a freshie page and make note of what you’re watching as inspiration so you can refer to it later.

2. All you have to do while you’re watching is expect to hear or see something interesting, surprising, or compelling and write down notes about it. Facts, one-liners, visual details, character notes... (If you like to doodle or draw from observation, you can illuminate your pages while you veg, too)

3. Once you’re done watching, read over your notes and start pulling ideas and elements together in a new way— see where it takes you! (You can set a timer for ten minutes -or- tell yourself that you must write in rhyming couplets if you’d like some tighter parameters!)

The above poem started simply — I perked up when one of the scientists said that for every star there are several planets. Sometimes I take pages of notes and quotations and draw the people and have tons of stuff to sift through. On this day, though, I was tired and mentally broken— so one line, one idea, was enough.

And, y’know. I like this practice because these poems are always actually about what’s going on in my interior world anyway. These practices where we partner with external stimuli manage to be highly convenient modes of pulling the inside out.

That’s what we’re gonna be doing next weekend, July 28th 10:30am-12:30pm central, in the Member Creative Jam. Using inspiration from the public domain archives, we will draw, write & learn so many interesting things about ourselves…

Wanna join us?

Membership of $6/month or $60/year opens the door to these creative tune-up sessions.

I also make tickets to Creative Jams available for the non-member price of $25, here.

It also really makes a difference when folks share my work:

Who in your life could use an excuse to loosen up and get creative a little more often?

xo!!