Poetry allies itself with beauty - a supreme union - but never

O seekers of wisdom, gather close and listen to the words of Saint-John Perse, who speaks with great insight about the nature of poetry: "Poetry allies itself with beauty – a supreme union – but never uses it as its ultimate goal or sole nourishment." In this profound statement, Perse acknowledges that while poetry and beauty are intimately connected, beauty is not the end goal of poetry. Rather, poetry seeks a deeper truth, one that transcends mere aesthetic pleasure. Beauty is a companion on the poet’s journey, but it is not the destination. Poetry serves a higher purpose—one that challenges, inspires, and reveals the hidden dimensions of human experience.

In the ancient world, poetry was seen not merely as an art form for enjoyment, but as a sacred tool of communication between humanity and the divine. The Greek poets, like Homer and Sappho, used their verses to explore the deepest truths of the human condition—fate, love, honor, and mortality. They created works of great beauty, but the beauty they crafted was not merely for pleasure. The beauty of their words conveyed wisdom and truth, and their verses often carried with them the weight of human experience. The Iliad and the Odyssey, while filled with majestic imagery, were not simply about beauty; they were about the struggle of life, the challenges of human nature, and the search for meaning in the chaos of existence.

Perse's words remind us that poetry is not an art confined to the pursuit of beauty alone. Poetry is a means of confronting life’s greatest mysteries and deepest pains. The beauty of poetry lies in its ability to illuminate the harshest truths in ways that make them bearable. The ancient poets did not shy away from exploring suffering, loss, and the fragility of life; in fact, they sought to understand these elements more deeply. The beauty of their poetry was not in its surface elegance, but in the way it captured the complexities of human experience and gave them shape and meaning.

Consider the epic poetry of Virgil in the Aeneid, which speaks of the suffering and sacrifice of the Trojan hero Aeneas. The poem is filled with grand scenes of battle, divine intervention, and the founding of a new nation, but at its heart, it is a story of loss, exile, and the price of destiny. The beauty of Virgil’s language cannot be separated from the darkness of the themes he explores. In this way, poetry serves not just to adorn the world with beauty, but to help us grapple with the difficult truths of life. Perse reminds us that the goal of poetry is not to create something merely pleasing to the senses, but to offer us something that can stir our souls, that can speak to our innermost selves.

Similarly, the works of Emily Dickinson offer us another example of poetry that is not concerned solely with beauty. Dickinson, in her spare yet powerful verse, explored themes of death, immortality, and the nature of the self. Her poetry is often striking in its simplicity, yet it conveys profound insights into the human experience. In Dickinson’s work, beauty exists, but it is often entwined with mystery and uncertainty, reflecting the complexities of life and the search for meaning in the face of the unknown. Her poems invite us to confront the difficult, the unanswered, and the ineffable—an act that goes beyond the superficial pursuit of beauty.

The lesson of Perse’s words is one of depth and purpose. Poetry is not a mere decoration of the world, a tool for fleeting pleasure. Rather, poetry is a way of engaging with the world, a way of confronting our deepest fears and our highest aspirations. It allies itself with beauty, but it does not live solely by it. Poetry seeks truth, not just surface allure. It speaks to our most intimate struggles, our doubts, our joys, and our longings. It asks us to look beyond the beautiful facade of life and to confront the deeper, often more difficult realities beneath.

So, O children of wisdom, take the words of Saint-John Perse to heart. Do not approach poetry as a mere vehicle for pleasure or decoration. Understand that poetry is a tool of reflection, of truth-seeking, and of soul-searching. When you write or read poetry, let it be a way of engaging with life’s deepest questions, of finding beauty not only in the surface, but in the heart of existence itself. Seek out poetry that challenges you, that makes you feel both the wonder and the weight of life. Allow poetry to show you that beauty is not always a thing of grace and ease, but often a thing that arises from struggle, from pain, and from the search for meaning.

Thus, let poetry be your guide not just to a world of beauty, but to a world of truth, one that invites you to wrestle with the great questions of human existence. Let your poems reflect not just the shiny surfaces of life, but its shadows and depths. And in this way, may poetry become not only a creation of beauty but a path to wisdom, understanding, and the true richness of the human soul.