What a time to be alive.
The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.
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The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people.
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Beautiful, also, is the sun.
Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.
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- Langston Hughes, My People
Poetry is essential. Driving around today I heard two poems on the radio. They reminded me that hearing spoken poetry can slow and then quicken time like pulled taffy.
Poems can remove us from protracted patterns, lead us to new ideas, and hold memories too complex to utter in ‘normal’ speech. In that sense, 2020 has been total poetry — losing the ability to grasp time, feeling soaring joy next to massive fear, and wells of deep sorrow. What a time to be alive.
#listentoartists #lookatnature