Wasting Time

It's a funny thing, being a poet, or an artist of any kind.  There's a great deal to learn, because art, as distinguished from self-expression, rests on craft and on the tradition, on all the discoveries of every poet who went before you.

It usually means you have a dedicated time to write most days.  You read other poets and are connected to some - these days, often on the web.  You practice the art without expecting to gain anything from it, though you could luck out.  But if you do it to become rich or famous, it tends to become commerce, which looks to the marketplace rather than the soul.

But the largest part, I think, is Being a Poet.  It is a way of being receptive to the whole world, outer and inner, of ambling along rather than always driving to some goal.  It has to do with the need or desire to experience new things, to expand yourself.

And it has to do with creating enough empty space in your life to "waste time".  I was doing that this morning, checking email, and clicked on a link in a post from Motionpoems, to which I subscribe.  They never disappoint.  There is also an article on the site by Angella Kasube, the creator of the video.  What a wonderful new use of new technology.  I hope you enjoy it, too.