kingdom of the outplanets

hello universe!

otherworldly beauty is amazingly easy to find on this planet... just look around and notice. is this why the best poems are those written about ideas and people outside of one's self?

found this in my backyard the other day; to me it looked like a transplanted seed from an outplanet:

in other news, it has been very informative reading "Poet's Market" and noting what kinds of poetry is encouraged and discouraged by various publishers and magazines. I found it especially interesting how many discourage "religious" poetry. at first blush, this tendency appears somewhat discouraging to Christians like me, but after I thought about it, I realized that this too has to do with the idea that "the best poems are written about ideas and people outside of one's self." let me explain...

it seems to me that there are two kinds of "religious poetry," and most editors seem to know this, as evidenced by the fact that the Chautauqua Literary Journal gave a specific name to the undesirable kind: "hackneyed spiritual versifying." what makes the difference between the two kinds is the focus. "hackneyed spiritual versifying" is primarily self-centered in its heart. it is the kind that uses all the "right" words (like "born again" or "fellowship") to describe a vaguely spiritual feeling that makes God into a tool for our own self-exaltation. this kind of worldview also comes out in everyday life, but in poetry, the wrongness of it becomes more blatant; poetry, I think more so than any other art form, has a way of exposing the deepest orientations of the heart. as such, the "God-as-Santa-Claus" worldview tends to create bad poetry, the kind of poetry that just grates on every inner sinew of your body and makes you feel like you've touched some kind of deadly disease. this is not what should characterize "religious poetry." real religious poetry should be defined by its focus on God as He is, not as we wish Him to be to our own comfort. besides, the way He really is turns out to be way better than our imaginings of Him! this way, the poetry can "reach for the moon, and land among the stars."

an outward focus creates the beauty of the outplanets. the self is such a small kingdom, and poetry was created to plumb depths too large for self. is this why poetry is not as popular as it once was? because well-written poetry (even poetry that is not obviously religious) showcases the endless boundaries of God's kingdom and emphasizes the smallness of our own kingdoms? or because so much self-centered poetry has been written that people don't know what well-written poetry is anymore?

keep creating, friends, poetry and art and stories and structures and equations and lives that showcase the Kingdom without falling back on "hackneyed spiritual versifying."

until the aether realigns,

maggie langdon