Have you noticed that the poets in Tintota are singing their soul-songs for us all?

Poetry is the word-song of the Soul. We become as the lark. High above the fields in summer, her sweet song spills down to us as she hovers, pouring forth her soul-song. It can fill our human heart with joy. How we long to open our own hearts, releasing the emotions we feel!

How do we sing a soul-song? We do not have the voice of the lark, nor her wings that hold her positioned in the air above.

We believe her song to be one of joy.

What of the mythical song of the dying swan? This is reputed to be a song of exquisite beauty, could we but hear it. Would it be tinged with the sadness of departure? Does the swan mourn her departing life or is she filled with joyful anticipation for what beauty is to be found at Heaven’s Gate?

Our emotions are mercurial, rising within us to the very pinnacle of joy, or plunging, to the lowest depth of despair. They run the gamut, from love to hate, from laughter to tears, from hope to despair, fear to terror. They are our invisible sensors, like the antennae of the butterfly, the whiskers of your cat, transmitters that work with the speed of electricity alerting our emotions to action

Our emotions are part of our being, they connect with our heart and with our soul. At times, they create such pressure within that we crave release in a shout of joy, or a cry of pain. In modern parlance, this could be termed a mere ‘quick fix’. We cannot find the words appropriate for the expression of our deepest feelings, yet we require to sing our own, purely individual soul-song. Our deepest feelings need to be expressed with reverence. Enter the poet within.

Reverence is of the soul. The lark sings her soul-song from her heart. We mortals express ourselves in words.

The great world-poets knew how to use words to express the word-songs of their souls. They chose words exquisitely. They created word-music through sound, rhyme, rhythm and meter. They presented their inmost soul feelings, with great reverence. We treasure their works.

As is seen down the ages, particularly in times of crisis or change - be it personal, public or universal - poets sing their soul-songs. What a variety they present to us, songs of love, songs of praise, songs of bravery, songs of sorrow, songs to inspire, songs to amuse. An endless list indeed.

When emotions are touched, then it is that the poets express in their word-songs the feelings in the hearts of us all.

At this time, in Tintota, we feel honored to present the poems of our present day poets. Their soul-songs catch at our own emotions. Our own hearts are touched and we feel with them the joys and pleasures, the beauty and poignancy of life, we mourn with them for their losses and react to the cry of despair with compassion. Terror we have witnessed through the writings of some of our youngest contributors.

Poetry can express every mood, the wonder of beauty, the ardor of the lover, the loneliness of loss, are but a few. There is too, a leavening in the mixture. Humans were born to be happy. Happiness brings smiles and laughter. Our Tintota poets have not forsaken us in this field either. Who has not been left with a smile and a laugh after reading Dave Rowan’s poems?

We started with the lark, perhaps now we should end with an Australian bird, a Kookaburra, who knows just how to express his soul-song with the unforgettable laughter that has earned him his title, the Laughing Kookaburra.

Open your hearts and sing your soul-songs as do the birds. Allow yourself to soar on the wings of your emotions, even to Heaven’s Gate, pouring forth your word-songs for us all to hear.