Hello, Cozy Friends!
Usually, Tuesday and Thursday posts have paywalls after the haiku comic section. Today, I’m giving everyone a chance to see what kinds of posts paying members have access to. In this issue, I have a few of my notebook pages including a two-page collage spread and the roughs of two poems. I also have an essay about why poets need to go outside.
Paying members help keep Weirdo Poetry going for everyone and allow me the freedom to experiment with things like leaf collages.
warm and dry inside poetry is happening outside in the rain
Poetry is Happening Outside
I love being cozy. I hate cold showers and relish standing under hot water that steams up the bathroom. I love blankets, flannel, fires, hot chocolate, and reading late into the night.
The sound of rain on my roof makes me grateful to have shelter overhead and fuzzy slippers on my feet.
However, I’m a poet and an artist, and as overactive as my imagination is, I cannot do my job without leaving the house regularly. I need to see different trees. I need to hear snippets of conversations and find cool stuff on the ground.
I may write most of my poems at my desk, but that’s just me taking dictation. The poetry is happening outside.
If I don’t go out and have mini-adventures, I won’t have anything to write about. I need to observe the world so I can uncover its secrets. As the primary caretaker of three teenagers and the primary advisor to one very young adult, leaving the house alone is a challenge.
It would be easy to let laundry, dishes, cooking, vacuuming, dog walking, and chauffering children fill up every moment of my life. But that makes for a cranky parent and a frustrated poet.
I need to be where the poetry is happening. I make time almost every day to walk outside. I walk in the rain, I walk in the wind, I walk in the sun, I walk no matter what. I stroll downtown, I ramble around parks and preserves, and I saunter around the pond by the library.
Today on my walk, I found two poems waiting for me. I posted about them on Notes:
Here is what they look like in my notebook:
If I had stayed inside all day, I would’ve missed the stunning red leaf and the two poems.
Earlier in my walk, before the poems, I found a few other interesting leaves and things that I put in my pocket for later use.
Going outside into the lone and dreary world is how I find many of the physical and metaphysical components of my art. Here are two leaf collages I made from the stuff gathered during the aforementioned walk:
The two haiku were inspired by the collages.
I love being cozy. But if I spend too long away from nature, I get restless. I cannot be comfortable unless I’ve first spent time outside. The hot shower and mug of hot chocolate are at their best when I’ve first been soaked to the bone walking near the river on a chilly fall afternoon.
Be the poetry you want to see in the world!
Cheers,
Jason
I had a collection of leaves all my childhood ❤️
When I look at yours tears come to my eyes
As adult I have being collected stones ( in the life meaning ways as well 😅)
But is true
I’m have many different stones from many different places
I worked with them in my spiritual healing process
They have inside them all secret from all over the world 😉😇
Love your poems Jason
Thank you for sharing your delicate words and work ✨
This is a perfect haiku and the artwork is spot on!