Written by Joelis Rodriguez
Header Image: Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (Autorretrato con Collar de Espinas) 1940 Frida Kahlo
In the public sphere, a straightforward conclusion is drawn about the vocation of the poet: too emotional. They’re penniless! Get a real job! The jokes are endless. But I’m here to argue our right to exist, and exist with feeling. What does it mean to feel like a poet? To be a poet, with feelings?
A poet is a person that feeds themselves and others with words from a language that they manufacture, a language that each poet births as their own. It is time that, as poets, we embrace our blessing and curse of feeling intensely. It is the fire that engraves our pages as we write. It’s the voice that camouflages in between letters, tangling words, creating sentences. It’s the children inside of us, treating stanzas and rhymes as building blocks. It’s the roots that molded us into what we are today: intense poets living in an intense world where literature is not appreciated.
Feeling like a poet is translating life into verses. We highlight uncomplicated scenarios and turn them raw. Dissecting contrasting emotions and molding them into our favor creates a pathway for poets to express themselves. There are no rights and wrongs while writing poetry. It is only you, your emotions, and an empty piece of paper. No one can dictate the way you feel. There is no shame in feeling. Feel like there are no consequences, like the only world that matters is the one you’re creating.
The world of poetry is enchanting. It’s made up of time periods, all the way from Shakespeare’s sonnets to contemporary free verse. It’s a majestic place of different forms that would never let the reader stand in trial. There is no judgment.. Everything is raw. Just break this stanza here, create a new verse there, even make the first stanza your title, because rules are not the point here.
Expert from Aimee Nezhukumamathil’s When You Select the Daughter Card
By seeking
to understand and accept the more salty aspects
of yourself, you might grow another arm or leg,
pointing at your truest love. If you fear that you
have not fully accepted all the many hard
and wondrous ways you are loved, don’t siphon
away your frustration.
Allow yourself to visit the poetry world and feel. Let your bare feet touch the fictional rough and prickly green grass and feel. Tear it out with your bare hands and allow your fingers to get cuts and feel.
Feel.
Feel.
Feel.
Feel until your physical body cannot hold for any longer. Feel until your brain enters another dimension. Feel until poetry removes the numbness that our world has to offer. Don’t be scared and just feel. Feel until the pen on your hand runs out of ink.
Joelis Rodriguez is a born & raised Puerto Rican poet who uses poetry as a refuge from real life. Through verses, she desires to represent her heritage and raise awareness to the past and present events happening in the small Carribean island. She currently studies at Stony Brook University, majoring in Creative Writing & Literature with a minor in TV writing. When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her at the beach collecting seashells or singing her heart out at some concert.