This perfect poem from James Broughton (whose nickname was Big Joy) brings us right into NOW every time we read it.
This is It.
This is really It
This is all there is.
And it’s perfect as It is.
There is nowhere to go
but Here.
There is nothing here
but Now.
There is nothing now
but This.
And this is It.
This is really It
This is all there is.
And it’s perfect as It is.
We found it years ago on a friends’ website, but just got around to reading about who wrote it.
We wondered how we had missed a poet/artist like Broughton until we realized that we’d seen his infamous film The Bed in the late sixties. Who could forget the image of a bed rolling down a hill, and then the happily naked people of all stripes that crossed its path, including him playing the saxophone?
But somehow we missed his best poems, This is It, 1 and 2, and his unique wisdom.
He famously said…
When in doubt, TWIRL!
…and
Follow your own weird.
…and
Trusting your individual uniqueness challenges you to lay yourself open.
…and
Will the final gasp be a breathtaking event?
It seems his mission was to wake people up, which he did (and still does).
More about poet and experimental filmmaker Big Joy James Broughton in a 2 minute film here and a bio here.
Splendid!