30 Days of Sidewalk Poetry

Posted on July 14th, 2010 by admin

When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. ~ John F. Kennedy

Generally I would have had the iP whiteboard up by mid-June but the month was so full that I really needed a few extra weeks to let the events and ideas that surfaced marinate. I reflected on various themes that cropped up but one that seemed to stick was around “roles” – the roles we play in our work, family, community, etc… I have had my share of experience with role theory through Deep Democracy but this past month I was concerned with only one role (or archetype). The poet. Is the poet a visionary? a prophet? a messenger? a leader? a transformer? Is the poet the busker at an intersection singing her personal story, the dad holding his young son’s hand or the passerby with a soft smile on her face? Who’s work is poetic? Only the artist or also the changemaker? The doctor? The baker? The student who is also the teacher? The superhero who rescues herself? And then if those weren’t sufficient questions to ponder, I piled on one more: how does it happen?

For me “sidewalk poetry” is the magic that happens in the to-and-fro of life. The eloquent and poignant messages we leave behind like little footprints. Someone else will come by and pause in those footprints and for a moment, breathe in your message. It might linger for a bit inside their lungs or be expunged as quickly as it was absorbed. Either way, those footprints will be there to revisit again and again.
During the G20, while many others in my community were on the streets embroiled in their own battle for poetic justice, I sought solace in a pair of footprints much too big for my little feet to ever fill but worth an entire world of inspiration. In a modest yet significant way, I was present for the release of a collection of paintings based on the original poetry of one Jennifer Corriero, renaissance woman and changemaker extraordinaire. The question on the table was: “how does it happen?” And the subject was: change. The event was exquisite. The paintings were masterful. And the message was inspiring.

Earlier in June I attended a great event – Corporate Social Responsibility: How to Do It Right. Peggie Pelosi of ORENDA spoke about her work in facilitating corporate karma by connecting company with cause. The catch is that the cause has to truly resonate with the values of the company and its employees. It has to be focused and credible, and make sense with the company’s service and brand. If those conditions are met, it has the ability to completely transform a stagnant organizational culture and propel a company toward growth. This is exactly the approach I take and right now I am testing it out from the other end of the equation – beginning with the cause and connecting it to the right company. The right connection can inspire. Furthermore, it can support both an organization and a company to do well and do good.

So what of those who argue that you cannot do both – well and good? Organizations and companies may be institutions but even institutions are made up of people. And if there is one thing I know unequivocally – it is that people are capable of both doing well and doing good. Any high school graduate could explain that to you. They know what that means. Capacity accounts for 50% of it. The other 50% is entirely values. Lucky for me, expressing ideas so that they resonate with different value sets just so happens to be my form of poetry.

After such an intense month full of words, art and messages, I was happy to retreat to quiet mornings eating fresh croissants and blueberry-lavender jam procured from my local bakery and pottering around in my container garden. Is that the work of a poet too? I’m not sure. Either way, it suited me just fine.