I'll always admire poets, I think, for being able to do something I never will. For their ability to combine written words (I can at least make an attempt at writing in a standard format) with rhythm, or rhyme, or both, and make it beautiful in a way that must be read over before it can be appreciated, or if it is understood the first time, and clicks, then maybe that makes it all the more beautiful. If there was a contest, to see which style of writing is the most graceful, makes the most sense, is the most beautiful, poetry would be damn near the top for me.
That's not to say I read a lot of it. I don't think I've ever read a full book of the stuff; it's just not the type of mass produced writing that is appealing enough to me to hold my attention for the length of many pages. It's partly jealousy, I think, that is holding me back because a part of me doesn't want to read something that I don't understand, and that is sad, but I can't get over it and that's why I listen to Nick Drake.
My first listening experience with the man was Fly, discovered on my iTunes after reading about him in High Fidelity, and he swept my mind up to a place that I think was as close to poetry as I'll ever get. The music is simple, really. Acoustic guitar, occasional orchestral instruments, and a soothing voice that I don't know of any equivalent to. However simple it may be, though, it is evident from listening that Drake's soul is being directly imparted into his music.
He committed suicide in 1974, at 26 years old, and after releasing three unsuccessful studio albums. He was depressed throughout his life, and maybe one day it took complete hold of him, and that was why he did it. Maybe, he just didn't have anything left. How much can a musician put into his music before they are empty? Is there a limit? Why do all the great musicians seem to die young?
I don't know, but I like to think that there was more to the man's death than just simple depression. I think it's evident from listening to Bryter Layter that this wasn't a man simply wallowing in depression; he was instead expressing it, and sharing it with the world through poetry. Musical poetry. The lyrics are poetic, but it is the soft guitar and backing instruments that completes it, and his voice that elevates it to the level of a masterpiece. He sings about nature, and about poverty, and about hardship, and it is as poetic as anything I've ever read.
Poetry in music, it is beautiful, by a man doomed to never feel the same way about himself.
