When Life Gives You 'salt.'
Finding inspiration and joy in poetry
Good Morning!
For my US-based readers, welcome back from the holiday weekend—and for my international readers, I hope your week started off well! For myself, the last few days have been a blur. I was deep in the writing zone and didn’t turn off my brain until 12:30 AM. I recognize this isn’t the best self-care; however, the risk is worth the reward in this case. I did have one surprising moment of downtime this weekend, which I’d like to share with you today.
Here’s what’s inside today’s edition…
Morning Microdose: When Life Gives You “salt.”
Myth of the Day: Poetry is so strict—there are too many rules and conventions.
Action Item: Explore the genre of poetry
(1) Morning Microdose
When Life Gives You “salt.”
One of the things I love most about songs is that they are poetry set to music. It’s no secret that I am a huge Taylor Swift fan (shout out to my Swifties out there—looking at you Paulina in Sacramento), and I consider Swift to be one of the most profound musical storytelling poets of my generation.
I find myself listening to poetry every day in the form of music. And yet, I’ve never been remotely interested in reading poetry. Part of the reason is how bored I was in school learning “the classics,” iambic pentameter, and Shakespeare (GASP!).
This weekend, however, I was delighted to find a relic from 2019 that made me remember how cathartic reading poetry can be for the soul.
Back in 2019, I was desperately grasping for anything to heal a broken heart. I remember scrolling through social media and stumbling on this simple white square.
Reading this poem was a complete shock—these six lines, just 13 words, made me feel like the poet was speaking directly to my heart. These are the words of Nayyirah Waheed and they come from her self-published book of poetry “salt.” I read “salt.” cover to cover, dog-earing and memorizing at least 50 poems that spoke to me in a way that nothing (and no one) had ever spoken to me before.
This weekend—four years and two months after discovering it—I re-found “salt.” in a drawer and once again, read it from cover to cover. The poems that I dog-eared have new meanings and evoke different emotions. Now, there is almost a fondness in looking back at that time in my life, as well as a deep emotional satisfaction that my resilience led me from a dark place to one filled with light and wonder.
The poet has disappeared, but her impact on my life has not
I’m not sure what happened to Waheed. Her Instagram presence disappeared (she had over 500,000 followers) and the cover of “salt.” was redesigned in an odd, very meta way. Based on Amazon buyer comments, though, the content is almost exactly the same as the 2013 edition.
Maybe Waheed is rebranding herself? Then again, don’t we all at some point in our lives?
Perhaps Waheed’s poetry isn’t for you—poetry is subjective and what creates a visceral reaction for me might not move the needle a millimeter for you. But I encourage you to consider reading poetry and take a chance on exploring the genre. You never know what emotions you might discover within yourself or what kind of connection you might form with a particular poet's work.
Poetry captures life's beauty and complexity in a unique way. Let it illuminate unexplored aspects of the human experience. Give poetry a chance to reach your soul and enrich your life with new perspectives.
(2) Myth of the Day
“Poetry is so strict—there are too many rules and conventions.”
Although it’s true that many poems adhere to perfect rhyme and meter, poets frequently explore form and structure to produce unique and innovative works. Waheed herself was “originally criticized for not following the more traditional rules of poetry,” however, “fans of Waheed's work praise her use of full stops and two to three-lined poems.” Ultimately, poetry is a form of expression through which one can convey their thoughts, emotions, and experiences, and it doesn't have to be perfect to be meaningful or impactful.
(3) Action Item
Explore the genre of poetry. If you’re not ready to buy a book, check one out at your local library. It’s free!
Liked what you read? Stick around and share with a friend.