“August in Waterton, Alberta” by Bill Holm

Above me, wind does its best
to blow leaves off
the aspen tree a month too soon.
No use wind. All you succeed
in doing is making music, the noise
of failure growing beautiful.

---

I found this poem in “Bird by Bird“, a part-memoir, part-guide on writing by Anne Lamont, an American novelist. The context was that one day, one of Anne’s students had received honest but harsh feedback from another writer that left him distraught and in tears. This poem is what Anne wanted to send to this upset student.

Here are two takeaways from this poem.

1. Harsh wind is inevitable

Above me, wind does its best / to blow leaves off / the aspen tree a month too soon.

It is one of the universal truths: life is suffering. We see this concept in books, many of the world religions, and most importantly, in our personal experiences. In the best of times, these hardships will seem like mere nuisances; in the worst of times, they will threaten to blow our leaves off and tear us to shreds.

In the poem, the phrase “Above me…” indicates some divine providence, or a force beyond man’s control, being the cause of this suffering, further adding onto its inevitability. “…a month too soon” also nods to the unexpected timing of suffering – that we may never predict the next tragedy around the corner.

2. Suffering is beauty

No use wind. All you succeed / in doing is making music, the noise / of failure growing beautiful.

Upon first reading, I thought this section was describing how beauty is often shaped from suffering. We all intuitively understand this – there is no muscle without breakdown, no jewel without heat, no wisdom without mistakes.

But if you read those lines carefully, this is not what it means at all. This poem is saying that suffering itself is beauty. Whether it is a quiet heartbreak, a tear streaked face or eating giant tubs of ice-cream, moments of suffering are inherently beautiful.

Why the poet takes this stance is unknown and I would love to ask him. But from my experience, there is a certain magic taking place within failure. In these moments of embarrassment and frustration, we experience more of the world in its entirety, for failure and suffering is all around us and this is beautiful.

Let us create music in the noise of failure.