Amidst a series of uninteresting questions (“Is coaching necessary to crack UPSC exams?” and “Can you tell some interesting short stories? ”) on Quora, I chanced upon Christopher Poindexter (someone had asked who he was). As a reflex I thought of Interstellar; my brain had somehow ignored Poindexter and substituted it with Nolan. (Yeah, it does that sometimes!)
However, after reading a nondescript answer of him being a poet from the States, what really caught my attention was the photos of some of his hand-typed poems. They instantly reminded of the English romantic poet John Keats.
The poems mildly interested me, and so I googled and stalked his Instagram. His bio read– “Observer. Humanness. Everyday I fall in love.” His account had over three thousand posts of his poems, along with ample proof of his photography skills. It was hard to say what was more beautiful – his poems, soul stirring, each one better than the previous ; or the photographs from his everyday life, –a wine bottle, a cute dog, a ravishing young woman smoking cigarette in style, his study, his espresso – every picture as captivating as a hypnotist’s medallion.
Rosalie Cullen in Eclipse from the Twilight series (it had it’s rare moments) said how she used to be “in love with the idea of love” while she was human. I believe, at a certain level – all of us are fascinated by love as well. We, due to our shallow understanding of it, endeavor to find the true meaning of the word, the feeling, by reading Mills and Boon (or Nicholas Sparks) or by watching When Harry Met Sally. But when I read Christopher Poindexter’s poetry, it unlocked a whole new dimension of the meaning of love. His poetry was romantic and bold, inquisitive and wise.
One could substitute listening to music with reading his poems – they’d easily rejuvenate and satiate you in better ways than music ever could. You can get hypnotized by the cadence and treble of his poems. They are more addictive than Coldplay or Beethoven. His words are so bewitching, they wrap around you like cashmere, forcing you to lose track of time and space and just bask in the softness of their essence. There are many poems and quotes by Charles Bukowski or Sylvia Plath that would make you smile , but Poindexter’s poetry would stay with you, possess you, surfacing in your conscience at 3 am.
By far the most amusing thing on his Instagram has been his innovative way of promoting Naked Human – his first collection of poems. Taking inspiration from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he has put 10 Golden Tickets in his stock of the book and the winners will receive not only a conversation with the author, but also 3 poems written personally by him for their benefit! We at TYS are surely envious of the lucky winners!
This article would be incomplete without a sneak-peak into our personal top 5 by the author : –
1) Set Fire To The Rain
Here, Poindexter paints with his words, an enchanting image of how he views his love – as unpredictable, uncontrollable, and yet so enthralling that it demands all that one has. And isn’t that what love is? They say a heartbreak is an indication that it was a love worth having!
Photo courtesy : www.pinterest.com
2) Dance Me To The End Of Love
The eternal nature of love, transcending age and time is best captured in the following poem. You can effortlessly imagine the handsome Romeo, looking lovingly into the eyes of his beloved Juliet, and saying :-
Photo courtesy : www.pinterest.com
3) The Devil’s Tears
In a life well lived, one acquires their share of baggage – their demons; and true love accepts both. This is probably the most famous Poindexter quote – and I can see why :-
Photo courtesy : www.reddit.com
4) I Melt With You
Raj and Simran’s embrace in the most famous romantic movie of Bollywood , Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayengey, depicts a fraction of how artistically Poindexter describes an embrace between two lovers. One can perfectly visualize, in their own way, the love and passion simmering between them :-
Photo courtesy : www.christopherpoindexter.com
5) Waiting On Words
And finally comes my favorite – this is by far the simplest way to convey a lot more by using very little words. This proves that you don’t need massive vocabulary to precisely convey what you feel. Sometimes, when words are all you have, you don’t really need much else! Nothing would possibly flatter a girl more!
Photo courtesy : www.christopherpoindexter.com
Chistopher Poindexter’s work is beyond extraordinary – it is soul enriching. Check out his Facebook, Instagram, & personal website , and surrender yourself in his world!
