A Matter of Life or Death

This blog has been dedicated to finding blue spaces, green spaces, and the continual discovery of poetry by David Whyte.  He is the mentor and muse for this blog.

Today is an outstanding example.  In my daily practice of reading a poem a day, then taking inspiration and writing my own, I came across Whyte's poem "Born Again." But this time the inspiration was different. This time I found a stanza of the poem I want to memorize.  I want to be able to recite it at will.  I simply had nothing to write from it;  I knew I needed this in my heart.

Here is the stanza:

I want to be young and start it all again
but this time I want to deserve my youth,
to study generosity, to watch my mind
grow supple, to conjugate the verbs
that mark the body's joyful round
and anticipate even my heartbreak
by thinking of the loves ahead.

I have not idea why this particular passage struck me so fully. Could be because I'm staring 62 in the face with my upcoming birthday. What I do know is that this specific passage reaches in to the blue and green spaces of me, making me feel more fully whole and human.  It feels vital that I know it intimately.

Pat Conroy is quoted as saying "David Whyte makes the reading of poetry a matter of life and death."  In my life, more and more, I'm feeling this way as well.

...this time I want to deserve my youth...