Living in New York City as an artist has been, to put it simply, stimulating. Every walk to the store, trip on the subway, or visit to Elizabeth Street Garden is riddled with inspiration. My camera roll is teeming with unlikely color ways, street side flowers, and graffitied encouragements alike. But for everything a photo can not capture, I've turned to poetry.
What once started out as an experimental form of journaling has quickly become my favorite way to interpret the world around me. Conversations, gestures, moments - precious micro exchanges that disappear as soon as they happen - are perfect for this exercise.
I first began with haikus - 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables - but quickly learned that I wanted a touch more flexibility with my word selections.
So, I began writing what Jake humorously has coined as "Megku's" - 4 words, 6 words, 2 words. You have all the freedom of word selection without syllabic restraint, with the forced creativity that comes with a word limit.
Here are a few examples:
beauty in unlikely places
soulful melody reverberating alongside passing trains
platform pearl
//
a handful of ranunculus
blooming bouquet of orange to match
her coat
//
pecks passed between strangers
grateful for familiar spirits held within
unfamiliar faces
//
do you like opera?
want to go together some day?
train exchange
It's easy, it's tender, it's the perfect way to capture moments throughout your day. Perhaps I'll start writing these on the back on canvases? Or maybe a pocketbook of poetry?
Either way, I have a menagerie of moments neatly tucked into poems that I can cherish for a lifetime.
Give it a try & let me know how it goes.
In love & poems,
Meg