In a Cartesian-Reductionist world, only tangible, visible connections are deemed important. Supposedly, the world is a clockwork mechanism. When something goes wrong, it can be fixed with a hammer, screwdriver, or oilcan. But we sense that there is something more to making things function than drive trains, sprockets, cells, or synapses. There is something undefinable that pulls things together and imparts an overall purpose, whether by design or collaborative, random process.

We are something greater than the sum of our parts. Take some water, iron, flesh, and bone and put together a functioning being. It cannot be done. Place together a string of words and we will discern meanings, connotations, and currents over and above what is found in the words, themselves. Words are symbols, and symbols are not stand alone concepts – they connect to other things.

Poetry helps us recognize and make these unseen connections. It facilitates a deeper understanding of the human condition and our relationship with our own Psyche, Animus or Anima, and Shadow. It helps us relate to others in meaningful, spiritual ways far above and beyond the simply transactional state. Poetry is a working tool which aids us in imparting value, worth, and meaning to lives which, in the end, are all tragic.

Strip away poetry from one’s life, and all that is left is a Martingale, where all occurrences are random fluctuations within boundaries, dancing around a measure of central tendency. However, we will not long be divorced from poetic influences because of the connections and meanings we must continually derive to engage in simple thought processes needed to get through the shortest day.

In Jean-Luc Goddard’s 1965 film, “Alphaville”, the protagonist, Lemmy Caution, was able to save the human race from extinction because the evil, mastermind computer’s destructive design was thwarted as it could not understand the illogical poetry of love and human emotion. But through poetic means, we are able to intuit the necessary connections.

Our great energies are divided in endless compartmentalization of the mind and soul keeping us from recognizing our true potential as individuals and as a truly free civilization.