THE (Soma)tic Poetry Exercises SITE IS UPDATED MONTHLY. Thanks to my friend Jason Zuzga for getting me to write these down. They are free to everyone who wants to write some poetry, but I strongly suggest you do not write documentary poetry from them. Use the experiences as little car crashes for your life to write from -- in other words my dears use these to write from, not of, thank you, you're fucking geniuses, now get writing!

Soma is an Indo-Iranian ritual drink made from pressing particular psychedelic and energizing plants together. In Vedic and Zoroastrian traditions the drink is identified with the divine. The word Soma is derived from the Sanskrit and Indo-European tongues meaning "to press and be newly born."

Somatic is derived from the Greek, meaning the body. In different medical disciplines it can mean different things, from a cell or tissue, or to the part of the nervous system that controls sensations and movements.

My idea for a (Soma)tic Poetics is a poetry which investigates that seemingly infinite space between body and spirit by using nearly any possible THING around or of the body to channel the body out and/or in toward spirit with deliberate and sustained concentration.

My first investigation into (Soma)tic poetry is a series I am calling (Soma)tic Midge. This is a 7-poem cycle where I fully immerse myself in a single color for a day. The order of the 7-poem cycle being the natural order of color, starting with RED, then ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, PURPLE, then ending with WHITE. PURPLE being the transformative, natural pivotal color which is born ONLY WHEN the starting color RED (which is the first element of the Zodiac, Aries, or ORIGINAL FIRE) and the last color BLUE (which is the last element of the Zodiac, Pisces, or ADVANCED WATER) bleed together.

When I say fully immerse myself in the colors I mean ONLY eating foods of the color of the day, as well as wearing something or keeping something of that color on or around me at all times.

THE FILTERS

In (Soma)tic Poetry THE FILTERS are words which function as focal points for the information and notes gathered from the exercises. With THE FILTERS you take all of your notes and begin to write poetry about or through these words, shaping and editing as you go. But it's important to note that THE FILTERS are only guides, and to help you shape the poem. Also it's good to use at least 2 FILTER words to prevent the conversation from becoming entirely internal or confessional, meaning that with the extension of extra filters the worldview will broaden as the poem takes shape.