It is Saturday, a good day to pull things together: Grocery shop. Do the laundry. Take care of the car.
On Saturday, amends are made for weekday shortcuts: A longer run for Fido at the dog park. Ride your bike all the way around the lake. Play with the kids. Call mom.
On Saturday night we freshen up, unkink, wiggle our toes.
This kind of day, Saturday, is made for poetry. It's a shot of fresh language directly into the brain. Or a pleasantly familiar visit, like getting together with your old friend Shakespeare. For example, a fun, short burst of poetry is found in Shakespeare's witches' chant from Macbeth. It's great writing to read out loud. Go ahead and try it; and give it a little punch, a little drama.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and, cauldron, bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing, -
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Did you smile after reading it aloud? I do.
Unlike many other forms of writing, poems can have tremendous staying power. For years I've carried in my wallet a poem called Fool's Errands by Kay Ryan that I'd read in the New Yorker. It's a short poem with simple language, but perfectly captures and explains a joy that I've seen myself. Here is the link. Another poem I've hung onto after reading it in the New Yorker is by Michael Longley and called Cloudberries. The title alone hooked me; I love the word 'cloudberries'
Something as fun, surprising, and engaging as poetry has to be good for you, right? Why not take a moment this Saturday to read, or write, some poetry.
