Peace Good Morning Everybody
I know you have a busy day
So I was instructed to be quote short and uplifting unquote
and I am like obviously you have heard me before
that you have to give me those instructions but
I wrote this for you
Today I am giving you a burden from my heart.
I am here to talk about why we need the arts
But I can't start without telling it to you truthfully.
I could stand here and say something neutrally
About how libraries and festivals are good for the community
Or that it's important to outreach to youth
And all those things are true
But the reality to them is often less than soothing.
My duty as a poet laureate is to speak more than platitudes.
We don't need poetry because it's cute.
And we don't even need poetry because it always makes us feel good
We need poetry because it makes us more human.
Because it transforms our attitudes about each other in profound ways.
And poetry is worth our gratitude
Because we are surrounded by grace
But what poetry asks us to do can be difficult
Because it forces us to look at ourselves and be critical.
Poetry is not just lyrical, I have seen poetry bear physical fruit.
And poetry is not a miracle worker but it demands
of us to not remain ambivalent
There is no equivalent to voices becoming visible.
There is no adjective adequate to what poetry can give.
Poetry is radical, which means getting down to the root.
And yes it can be magical too, because it gives us the power to change.
And I don't mean in easy ways,
I am talking about reading pages of poems sent
from inside prisons that challenge us to heal and forgive.
I am talking about people who need poetry to live.
I am talking about people with scars on their wrists
who don't just need poetry to uplift
They need poetry to exist.
I am talking about people who need poetry for their sanity.
There are so many examples I have actually seen in reality
I have witnessed a young man reading
through the dictionary in court
Because I told him about Malcolm X writing letters.
And I am not asking you to judge or not,
I am telling you only that poetry gives us a
guideline to imagine how we can be better.
Poetry gives us a lifeline to each other.
I call all poets my sisters and brothers
Because once we have touched someone's soul with words
How can we not see their humanity?
I am not asking us to change the planet,
What I am trying to express is how poetry changes
something fundamental about how we connect.
Poetry is not a talent, it is a necessity.
Such a blessing it has been to me,
But I have also carried so many people's hurt.
And I think if only, those I have seen transformed found poetry first.
And I know it is not naïve to believe
that when we put pens in hands it works.
I have seen people succeed in turning their lives around
only through expression.
And I'm not saying that we can solve all our problems by reading,
I am saying that poetry teaches us lessons
about how to see each other with compassion.
I'm telling you, I have seen it happen within my own feeling.
I have been called a bleeding heart
but that is because I have seen so much art
that was written in heart's blood.
Sometimes I have seen such suffering my tears come spilling in a flood.
And I have been called angry or militant
but it is because I have seen too many
people's pain to be indifferent.
You see, I have learned that the job of a poet laureate
is not defined by what we speak but how we listen.
And some may be offended by the strength of my positions
But yes I think that poetry is a mission
Because I have seen minds shift.
And I have seen so much beauty that I could
hardly describe to you the resilience that exists all around us.
And I wish so many of those words could be with us here in council.
I could list for you the many stories I have encountered.
Some from people many would not consider
who have shared with me their brilliance
From conditions most would think insurmountable
How many people have searched me out
Because they have no other sounding board to feel empowered.
People who have been told they do not count.
Out there are so many words waiting to be
showered upon us begging for significance.
And I believe it makes a difference
So I am asking, no I am insisting, only that we dignify their words
Because I have seen poetry give meaning to existence.