Hello Light Chasers! SO, I’ve been racking my brains on how to balance this whole social media/newsletter world, and I think I’ve come up with something amazing and I’m really excited for it. IF you are reading this, it means you’ve chosen to subscribe to this little newsletter, for which I am so grateful. I got a TON of helpful feedback from all of you in the Google Doc I sent out asking how you were liking the newsletter so far, and one of the things I got a lot of, was you all wanting more of the stories Behind the poetry, kind of like VH1’s “Behind the Music.” SO, I think what I’m going to do going forward, is if you subscribe to this newsletter, you’ll get the full scoop on the process behind each typewriter poem, the stories behind it, the lines that inspired or began it, and for all you who have taken the extra step and joined the official community (and are so generously choosing the paid monthly option, for which I honestly don’t even have the words to say thank you), I’ll answer any questions you may have in the comment section so we can have a full discussion if you so desire about each poem, any poem, your poems, whatever. I’m opening the door to my creative process, and I’m excited as hell for it. I hope you’re digging this idea.
Anyhow, I’ve been writing a lot of custom poems as of late, a god-send as we’ve literally not had a paycheck since February of 2020. The greatest thing, however, is the stories I get to listen to, the tales you’re all telling me with such vulnerability and honesty. You open up to me, and in turn, I get to try to translate your streams of consciousness into something that hopefully resembles a poem. It’s an honor of my life to undertake these challenges, to listen to you, to hear, and try to spit back something beautiful. I thank you, all of you who have ordered one so far, who have told me your stories. I thank you so sincerely, as it brings me so much joy, and so much heartache, and so much strife hoping I get it right for you. Todays, Typewriter Series #3067, is exactly this, another custom poem about two born from such opposite worlds, one of war, one of peace, that ended up falling madly in love, overcoming language barriers, bomb blasts, and the ache of distance. What a tale. The line that kicked the whole thing off for me, actually was the very first line, and it was inspired by a line she wrote to me when she reached out for her story to be told. She said that they found each other after sadness had run through them, and I had to include that little nugget, for her. At any rate, here is the poem about two lovers, who began half a world apart.
Click Play below and you’ll here me read it aloud to you, if you so desire.
After sadness runs us through,
after love stretched across a life,
beyond the borderlines they draw
we see birth again.
First born to bird song, I knew nothing
of the language you were
fluent in. You, born to bomb sounds
and wars that chased you,
a decade of words I'd never heard,
me of some soft blowing breeze
and the curtains it played with.
Immeasurable, I call the dust from stars
that fills us despite this,
call it indescribable that somehow
mine is yours and yours is mine
and neither a galaxy of distance
nor the din of explosion
stopped it from being shared
between us.
Did you know when I knew,
from the outset, from the birth
of new beginning,
did you see me and call out Home
in that first language I could not
understand?
Started half a globe apart,
serenaded by such separate sounds,
but now, stillness,
and poetry that finally
makes sense.
-Tyler Knott Gregson-
Also, stock is starting to get limited, so if you’ve not yet ordered a 2021 Calendar, I highly suggest grabbing one (or 5) by clicking the button below!
Also also, if you know anyone who’d be interested in this newsletter, please, please share it with them. It’d mean the world.
One of my favorites so far. You inspire me. Keep it up. You keep the fire of creativity alive.
Beautiful. I love the story behind the poem concept. And maybe someday you’ll share the one you wrote for me. 🙂