Poetry in Itself Considered and Poetry as a Mirror Considered

Poetry has the power to lead me along the path of interiority, just as prayer draws me into the closeness of God. When I pray, I am brought close to His presence. When I write a poem, I am brought into the closeness of the summit of poetry and blessed by its light.

Poetry, which arises from both the external and internal worlds (quaedam extra nos, quaedam intra nos), is a way of receptive listening with the heart.

Everything within me and out of me can be a sign of poetry’s voice—of God’s voice.

Without listening to those signs (quaedam extra nos, quaedam intra nos), there can be no poetry. Without listening to our hearts, we cannot hear God’s voice.

Poetry leads us to the summit of Beauty, THE Beauty that resides within us. Prayer leads us to God. 

Those who have the will to perceive its voice recognize Beauty as a sign of God.

Beauty draws us to its highest peak—the threshold where it “respicit rerum existentiam in arte aeterna” (turns its gaze back to the existence of things in eternal art). 

From that threshold, one can either ascend to the primum principium (God) or remain at the height of human achievement—poetry—without crossing over.

This choice depends on whether we consider poetry in itself (in sua puritate) or as seen in God’s mirror (in speculo/per speculum).

If we consider poetry in itself, it is a sudden light, revealing the depths that dwell within us (intus).

But if we see poetry per speculum Dei, it unfolds as a way of contemplation—the essence of what humanity was created for (creatus fuit homo habilis ad contemplationis quietem), when it turns its gaze back to God.