....from 'Poetry Splash!' e-zine Issue 009
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<>INVEST IN POETRY<>
By: Arvind Passey.
 
When I was at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, the first sentence
that we heard during our WT Class (Weapons Training) from our WT
Instructor was:
'Your rifle is your life -- invest your time and love in it!'
 
The same can be said of poetry. Let me be a bit more expansive:
 
**1.  Invest in your Dreams.
(1) Invest 10 minutes every day to identify an incident or thought that
need not remain fleeting. Write it down. Visualize it. Talk to yourself
about it. Ten minutes, every morning! And,
(2) Take an action step every day. Do something that moves you in the
direction you want to go. Convert a mundane moment into a rhyme, think up
a lilting parody for any advt. slogan in the newspaper, read a stanza,
break your thoughts into small sentences with a specific number of
syllables,...

**2.  Invest in Time and Space.
Human beings can not do our best when we are surrounded by clutter! Peak
performance requires focus, organization, concentration and freedom. It is
important, therefore, that you consider:
...each moment as a potential poem,  
...be open to unconventional ways of expression,
...ideas, other than those connected with poetry, must be kept at a safe
distance.


**3.  Invest in Connectivity.
Success requires high-speed, effective communication in your relationships,
and with yourself. Invest in clarity. Invest in understanding. Invest in
patience and caring and sharing. Invest in yourself and your loved ones,
and expand your network ... send your poems to be published in the 'Poetry
Splash! e-zine'. :-)


**4.  Invest in Skills and Education. 
Try to practise writing in all the existing forms of poetry. Obviously, it
is essential that you first learn about them. Try to keep a track of
poetry events taking place wherever you are, and then attending at least a
few of them.
 
All these things will surely help you realize the great poetic potential
within yourself. But most importantly, you will have taken the first step
towards understanding your own self!