John Keating from “Dead Poets Society” famously once said, “And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.” To an average college student, poetry might just be another boring, dry reading assignment or not on their radar at all. Throughout the years, though poetry has changed to fit in with modern times. It comes in many different forms such as rap, spoken word and even art.
Robert Macias Drake, better known as R.M. Drake is an American poet best known for his books “BEAUTIFUL CHAOS” and “BLACK BUTTERFLY.” With a huge social media presence of over 2.4 million followers, Drake has managed to unite fans from all across the globe through his writings.
Recently, Drake published a collection of short poems entitled “Something Broken. Something Beautiful.” The set has four books: Oracle, Departure, Manifest and Elevation. Each book touches upon a different aspect of a relationship, whether it be a romantic or platonic. Beautiful cover art graces the front of these paperbacks. According to Drake’s official website, “This set is for all who have a dream. For all who struggle with two jobs to get by. For all who have been ignored their entire lives. For all who feel empty. For all who cannot sleep at night because there is too much in their minds. For all who have died a little in the name of love. For all who believe in something. This one…is for you.”
Drake’s prose is as simple and clean as it gets. The poems are brief, but impactful. You find yourself being sucked in and reading the words over and over again letting them wash over you.
Given the current state of the world, it is pretty easy to fall into a state of loneliness and depression. It doesn’t take a lot to let all the stress build up until you’re feeling like a rubber band stretched too thin. The tension gets bigger and bigger until one day you just snap.
People are interesting, though, in that some of us try to adapt because despite it all, we still try our hardest to act like we are strong. We act as if the world around us doesn’t affect us. The truth is, it’s okay to not be strong all the time. It’s okay to ask for help and to seek release elsewhere. People need people at the end of the day and while everyone’s support system might look different, poetry is essentially a support system. It’s food for the soul. It’s a way to escape the world for a little bit. No one is perfect or superhuman. Be gentle with yourself and take that break.
Words are hard to come by sometimes. Thoughts, feelings, emotions, it’s all messy. To be human is to be messy. “Something Broken. Something Beautiful” reminds readers that yes, people are draining and yes, the world is cruel and unfair sometimes. However, there is beauty in your strength and your resilience. There’s beauty in your ability to pick yourself up from the ground piece by piece and rebuild.
At the end of the day, we’re all just humans looking for that connection, for someone to understand us and put our thoughts and feelings into words.
By Faith Macwana
fpmacwana@vwu.edu
