I Am Not a Poet
I am not a poet.
I am a professional linguist,
learning about language:
its structures, functions, meanings
and their interrelationships;
its manifestations in different forms;
its applications to different contexts; and
its relationships with the mind.
I am not a poet.
I am a functional linguist:
using language,
its finite lexico-grammatical rules,
its rich lexicon with infinite creative power
to make sentences,
to compose texts,
to create meanings,
to express my feelings.
I am not a poet.
I am a language user,
using language
to describe my pain, disability, suffering;
to share, inform, and inspire.
I am not a poet.
I am a sufferer,
using language
to metaphorise my pain, disability, suffering;
to face my pain and disability up front.
I am not a poet.
I am a thinker,
using language
to philosophise my pain, disability, suffering;
to transcend over pain and disability.
I am not a poet.
I am a mindful meditator,
using language
to focus each moment:
to live in and with my pain and spasm, moment by moment;
to manage my disability, moment by moment;
to transcend my suffering, moment by moment;
to live in the present, moment by moment;
to triumph over pain and suffering.
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A Natural Heritage Site in Ukraine. Photo by Михайло Пецкович, Львів.
CC AS-A 3.0 Unported license. http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Tam_za_tumanamy_Goverla&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go&uselang=en
Sunrise in Morning Mist near Dulmen, North Rhine-Westphalis, Germany.
Sonnenaufgang im Morgennebel nahe Dülmen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland. Photo by © Dietmar Rabich, rabich.de, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:D%C3%BClmen,_Umland,_Sonnenaufgang_–_2012_–_9.jpg
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Hi KK, the poem gives, for me at least, evolving images of new beginnings, of transfers, first in words and thoughts and then feelings of anticipation and becoming that thing we were not, but in another form.
Hi Bob, Thank you for your comment, interpretation and support. KK
Hi KK, Many thanks for this poem. I think that I now have some insight of a hitherto unfamiliar but terrible experience of being human. I hope that you can continue to help the fortunate readers like myself who are free of this pain to understand how extraordinarily elastic are the boundaries of what is humanly possible. Best wishes.
Hi Mark, Thank you for your comment, support, encouragement, and well wishes. I will continue to try to describe what chronic neuropathic pain is like from my perspective for the benefits of all sentient beings. KK
My dear KK, you are a gift to the world of suffering and a gift to me, your student and colleague! Thank you. By the way, being a poet is one of your ever burgeoning talents, so a new poem please! Warm wishes, Di
Dear Di, Thank you for your kind words. I am just trying to use something familiar (metaphor, imagery) to describe the most unfamiliar to most people: chronic neuropathic pain, spasm, disability; and I do so by experimenting with the poetic form (hopefully). How successful am I? Am I a poet? Best wishes. KK