Poetry and wine

For me, poetry and wine are fundamental pleasures in life. The making of each requires passion and purposefulness, tenderness and toil.

With the news of Maya Angelou's passing, I am thinking about how my history as a poet influences my wine writing. It feels somewhat revelatory to see the direct correlation. And yet, it shouldn't.

Both poetry and wine are born of relentlessness. Relentlessness is a cornerstone of creativity in my opinion. 

And so, my love for wine and my love for poetry are in many ways the same love. A love that comes out of appreciation for the eternal fire of the human spirit. 

Angelou writes breathtakingly about our enduring human spirit in her poem "Still I Rise." In Angelou's memory, I quote a bit of the empowering and exquisite poem that so spine-tingling details the power of our perseverance. 

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Her words and works will inspire and inspire and have inspired.  

end of the day in the vineyard