On Essence

It is very difficult, if not impossible, to capture essences in word, image or song.

They stir deep inside and connect on levels that go beyond mere sensory stimulation. Think on the experiential times when a subtle or overwhelming  sensation accompanied all that was seen, heard, smelled, touched and/or tasted.

It may have been the first real spring day after a long, hard winter that evoked such essence. It may have been the first time seeing a spouse wearing nothing but a smile. There are many potential triggers that set off essences, both positive and negative.

They may be called many things: excitement, dread, elation, peace, fear. But even these are rather shallow descripts of the true sheen taking place in the inner worlds. The word 'ecstasy' comes closest as it contains a spiritual element as well as expressive.

The artist, the writer, they know this and spend their creative time trying to capture the ephemera.

Because, if it can be captured and bottled up in a work of prose, poetry, painting or sculpture, it will be bestowed with a timeless quality. If music can touch the soul, it will be remembered forever.

Basho knew this and strove to trap essence in his haikus. Elizabeth Barrett Browning knew this and published Sonnets from the Portuguese to that end.  Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night was a strong effort to elicit essence, and the capture of the death essence was the motivation behind Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

Did these crafters of word, image and song succeed?

I believe they did.

If an artistic work resonates with the viewer/listener, does that not speak essence?

Writers, in particular, seek through word choices and phrasing to create resonance. It is done with metaphor and simile as the juxtaposition of those with the subject matter can truly turn the mundane into something much more.

For instance, I could spend a few paragraphs describing a Saturday morning in the summer of my childhood and many may nod their heads with understanding.

Or I could say,

Saturday mornings were warm cinnamon.

And it would open up a whole new world of potential.

The downside to this would be the reader that doesn't care for cinnamon. In that case, the metaphor would be lost on that person.

But do you see how a simpler statement can create more resonance than a lot of description and listing of events? Do you see how essence is awakened?

I have written over a thousand poems in search of this essence. I have attempted at each turn to make them resonate. Mostly, I have failed. But I like to think a few of my pieces evoke essence.

That should be the goal of every artist, writer, musician.

Without essence, everything rings hollow, everything is flat.