Blogging in Verse

Whose blog this is I think I know.
His laptop's in the study though;
He will not see me reading here
Watching this space fill up with words.

I've been asked to blog in verse, but such is not my bent. I'm not even good with doggerel and am terrible with rhymes. On the other hand, I did blog once about the poetry missing in our lives. Interestingly, I have no idea how to find that blog since poetry is not one of my designated categories and I don't remember what I was referring to.

It was not too long ago that I asked one of our project managers, Beth, if she was familiar with the Stevie Smith poem, "Not waving but drowning," and she was! This delighted me. My colleagues Dom and Frank are both knowledgeable about poetry and have had occasion to discuss poetry with Katharine when we were all meeting in Chicago. There's something in me that finds this kind of abstract knowledge deeply satisfying, even though I possess so little of it myself. It's a knowledge for knowledge's sake, and yet I've only known thoughtful people who care about it and I like thoughtful people.

Please forgive the awful opening of this blog. I suppose I could do better with some effort, but like drawing for me, it's an effort that is more painful than pleasant. I don't mind writing, I do mind writing verse. When I was studying architecture, I actually enjoyed drafting, but I didn't like drawing. When I was studying music, I liked playing, but I didn't like composing. And when I was studying theater, I liked everything: tech and acting, though perhaps not directing. The only thing I was any good at was drafting, and that wasn't anything to be particularly proud of.

I will have to find the poetry in my life from other things besides writing verse. Perhaps my friends, like Nick, will do me the honor.