Jacqueline Suskin - Every Day Is a Poem: Find Clarity, Feel Relief, and See Beauty in Every Moment

Table of Contents

Sounds True

Boulder, CO 80306

2020 Jacqueline Suskin

Sounds True is a trademark of Sounds True, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the author and publisher.

Published 2020

Cover design by Rachael Murray

Book design by Meredith March

Printed in South Korea

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Suskin, Jacqueline, author.

Title: Every day is a poem : find clarity, feel relief, and see beauty in every moment / Jacqueline Suskin.

Description: Boulder : Sounds True, 2020.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019056625 (print) | LCCN 2019056626 (ebook) | ISBN 9781683644842 (paperback) | ISBN 9781683644859 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Authorship Psychological aspects. | Authorship Problems, exercises, etc.

Classification: LCC PN171.P83 S87 2020 (print) | LCC PN171.P83 (ebook) | DDC 808.02 dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019056625

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019056626

for Marlee Grace,

my soul mate in the work of poetic healing

When its over, I want to say: all my life

I was a bride married to amazement.

MARY OLIVER

Contents

I am doing something I learned
early to do, I am paying attention
to small beauties.

SHARON OLDS

H ow do humans deal with the heavi ness of everyday ft living? How do we keep going when everything is so hard, sad, and infuriating? Were surrounded by hate, injustice, death, and destructionhow do we sift through the anguish and enjoy being alive?

MY ANSWER IS,
POETRY.

What would it be like to find inspiration everywhere you look? Its a sacred challenge to mine the wonder out of every day, out of trauma and pain, out of the mundane. This is what poetry does for us. No, it isnt a magic wand that vanishes all atrocity. But it does make humanity reappear; it brings beauty out of the shadow, back to the surface, making it accessible. Poetry is a guide, a teacher, providing reminders on how incredible it is to be alive at all, even when it hurts.

The poetic mind is a grateful one; its a mind that celebrates the miracle of being. The poetic mind is moody, and it digs its heels into these moods, pulling out the best and worst of feelings in the name of discovery, in the name of the shared human condition. The poetic mind shines a light on its uniqueness and its specialized way of coping with grief or anger. The strength of this mind is that it can turn any experience into one of worth, into something meaningful, into an answer or a gift of clarity.

When Allen Ginsberg wrote Howl, he tuned into the travesty of America in 1955, exposing the nuance of mental illness, connecting the dots between this sickness and the state of the country:

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed
by madness, starving hysterical naked,

dragging themselves through the negro streets at
dawn looking for an angry fix...

This poem became an anthem as it brought out a new language to describe something so dark, painful, and prevalent. Thats why Howl still sticks with us. Like all influential artworks, it displays a mind in touch with the greater picture, a mind that is willing to overflow with gratitude and wonder, while at the same time remaining skeptical and critical of society, war, and greed.

Similar in reach, Mary Olivers famous poem Wild Geese remains impactful as it explores a universal permission to move through pain into awe by way of curiosity, acceptance, and a celebration of the intricate details that connect us all. Her words help us circle back to our innate imaginative power, a human quality that is available, all-inclusive, and reliably healing:

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination.

This is my purpose as a poet, to write reminders that help us identify with our place in the universe, on this perfect planet that we call home.

Ive always been a poet, filling notebooks with cryptic verse before I really even knew how to write properly. Its the way that my brain processes my experience. I even got a degree in poetry. From 2009-2019, my project Poem Store was my only job, and it enabled me to write more than forty thousand poems for strangers. I set up with my typewriter at private and public events, writing for patrons who chose a subject and a price in exchange for a unique poem that I wrote on the spot.

This practice allowed me to explore the human condition in a way that I never dreamed possible. Ive heard humanitys deepest secrets and traumas, Ive listened to the most wonderful expressions of love and elation, Ive witnessed intense confusion and beautiful aweonly to translate it all into poetry. When my customers saw themselves on the page, something happened. My words offered a reflection, a moment of deep knowing, and I provided written proof that they werent alone, that they were seen and heard. This work is transformative and healing for people, and thats how Ive been able to make my living as a poet in the modern day. My work fills a place in peoples hearts, where there is a longing to be understood.

No matter where I am, no matter the demographic, no matter what part of the planet, everyone always asks me to write about the same subjects. Theyre all grieving over the same types of loss, celebrating the same kinds of pleasure, and longing for the same versions of love, devotion, and direction. My purpose is to decipher their feelings and reinforce their depths with poetry.

But outside of Poem Store, I still keep a dedicated daily writing practice. I continue to fill journals with rambling thoughts. I make myself turn the light on in the middle of the night if I have an idea to scribble down in a bedside notebook. Im constantly working on a project and have six published books. My poetic mind never stops, and I notice how it bleeds into my nonwriting life as well.

I can walk down the street and appreciate the greatness of the world even if Ive had a hard and emotional day. When its difficult to be alive, I immediately look for the meaning that is intertwined in the hardship, and thus, the problem becomes my teacher. And when I feel an empathetic overload listening to the news on the radio, I find myself looking for the larger picture, the things that help me believe change is possible, that humanity has a chance, that hope is a bright light we all carry, and that I can tend to it with my craft as a poet.

I continuously turn to poetry for help. Mary Olivers writing saves me when I feel too far from the forest. Wendell Berrys work rescues me when I feel disconnected from my intentions as an artist. Poets provide a new set of eyes that bring spark and magic into even the worst tragedy or most sluggish of slumps, marveling at the whole of creation and its wildness. Now more than ever, in a political climate where everyones input is crucial, poetry can help us respond and express a call to action in beautiful and potent ways.

The poetic mind is the root of change. Well always look to poets for the beginnings of true transformation. Poets are the caretakers of the human condition, the brave ones who speak out to instigate solutions to the larger problems of the heart and intellect. Everyones voice matters, and when the society we live in shakes us into fear and heartache, the answer is to tune our collective poetic mind and call forth the newness we need. Poetry is not a dusty book on the shelf or a forgotten pastime of passion long dead. No, its alive and well, at the forefront of resistance, and it thrives in the heart of activists everywhere.