Real Business Men Read Poetry

L.L. here, with Random Acts of Poetry. Sorry about the sexist title. Real women read poetry too. We do it partly to keep our souls intact, to balance our work and keep it infused with life, vision, dream.

One of my favorite books on this subject is David Whyte's The Heart Aroused : Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America.

Says Whyte, "As the current catchphrase goes, we want to work smarter rather than harder. Yet all of us are familiar with frantic busyness as a state that continually precludes us from opening to the quiet and contemplation it takes to be smart.... If we are serious about the soul at work, and the creativity that sustains a soulful work life, all of us must confront the question of quiet and contemplation in the workplace..."

Lunchtime poetry, anyone?

There are those among us who are beginning to read and write poetry as a way to slow down, to open themselves to a contemplative frame of mind. (You know who you are.) It holds great promise to make us not just smart, but real.

This week's poetry is from real man Fred Sprinkle. He may have even written these at lunchtime...

Cooking 1

Three scarlet souvenirs:
two bloody hands and one chopping block.
When I murdered the beet.

Cooking 2

Besides cheaper car insurance,
being older means
being wise enough to
eat beets bear chested.

Being single means
no one calls you a barbarian,
or compliments your belly
with a cold hand and a giggle.

----

Thanks to everyone who participated in our "The Real" prompt, in honor of a giveaway of Scot McKnight's The Real Mary. And, of course, thanks to all RAP participants, regardless of the theme of your poem. :)

All RAP Participants
Monica’s Attracting His Gaze
Laura’s Fast
Bonnie’s The Bloom of Becoming
Maureen’s The Real Me
Glynn’s The Real Poet
A Simple Country Girl’s Little Things
Kelly’s Real Time
Claire’s This Concept of Real
Monica’s The Real Paul
Deb's Mothers, Mary and Obedience
TweetSpeak’s Poems of the Ruby Moon
LL's Page 5

Next time in our Culture Section, we'll be hearing from Sam Van Eman. RAP will resume the following week. If you write a poem for the next RAP, please drop your link here so I don't miss it.

Real Mary photo and Culture Section: RAP post by L.L. Barkat.

• Tags:  
• business
• contemplation
• corporate soul
• creativity
• david whyte
• poetry and the workplace
• random acts of poetry