by Milton Dawes (2005)

This poem was read at “The Yellow Door” as an introduction to a drum solo I was invited to perform.  “The Yellow Door” and “Visual Arts Center” supported by “Canada Council For The Arts,” was created  by Ilona Martonfi (Founder, producer/host) to nurture the poetry community.

In my early school days: We were told we had five senses. Now I think of “senses” as “Whatever I am sensitive to”… “Whatever we have a sense of.” We could then think of “a sense of humor, a sense of fairness, a sense of beauty, a sense of rhythm” and many others you can think of. Tonight let us think of this one “A Sense of Elegance”.

Think of elegance as being about
That which is “Simple, Yet Profound”.
Here are some sayings that come to mind.
You might add to this some of your own.

Don’t cross the bridge ‘till’ you come to it.
Our experiences, situations, words, things and
Life itself have no meanings —
Beside the ones we give
Beside the ones we give —
It’s worth repeating. The meanings we find
Are the ones we gave.

E = mc squared…Profound! Simple! Elegant!
To be, is to be in relationships.
A stitch in time saves nine.
And how about these two?
“The map is not the territory”.
“The word, the name, is not the thing.”

You might have read somewhere
Nothing so practical as a good principle.
Don’t put more energy into something than you have to.
We can be busy … without harassing ourselves.
We can wait … without being impatient.
We can hurry … And yet stay calm.
We can meditate … while being very active.
We can wonder … without worrying.
Whatever we are doing … we are doing many other things.
I remember this one from long ago:
“Festina lente” … “Haste slowly”.
While listening to the rhythms of the drums tonight
See if this one comes to mind.
“Festina lente”…Haste slowly.