March 9: Poetry in Excess, Maggie Nelson, Section 79 from "Bluets"

Section 79 from Bluets

by:  Maggie Nelson

For just because one loves blue does not mean that one wants to spend one's life in a world made of it.  "Life is a train of moods like a string of beads, and as we pass through them they prove to be many-colored lenses which paint the world their own hue, and each shows only what lies in its focus," wrote Emerson.  To find oneself trapped in any one bead, no matter what its hue, can be deadly.
___________

I love chocolate, and I think that I could spend my life eating it.  Since I am diabetic, I suppose that could be deadly.  So, I guess Nelson's assertion is accurate.  Anything done in excess is dangerous.

I'm not sure if poetry in excess is dangerous.  Whitman spent his whole life writing and rewriting Leaves of Grass.  He died a white-bearded old man.  Robert Frost lived to a ripe, old age, as well.  Perhaps, excess poetry prolongs life.

I can agree with that.  I find poetry a form of therapy.  It allows me to express things that shouldn't be kept bottled up inside. 

Therefore, Saint Marty advises everybody to become poetry addicts.