"Give! Give! Just give yourself away!" So shouted the clergyman from his perch one Sunday many years ago -- urging the congregation to be more charitable, I suppose.
As I sat there listening to him expand on this theme, I wondered to myself: Once they've all given themselves away, who would be left to do the giving?
It's a question that harks back to a post I made not very long after I started this blog in 2008. The post is called "Ouch!" and I think it relates to this issue. Once they've put a laurel on you, you're pretty much done with being yourself whenever or wherever you feel like it. You're expected to do this, be that or whatever comes with the laurel you're given.
And that laurel may be invisible to the laureate. While the official ones are usually visible, laurels can also be imaginary. And, the imaginary ones can work more like labels than awards. (Maybe the official ones do, too. I wouldn't know about that, personally.)
A recent television advertising campaign urges recipients of a certain program to "guard their cards," that is, protect the identity guarantees that allow them to benefit from this program. I believe, and strongly, that poets need to guard their talents, time and treasure (in whatever form). A misguided laurel can just as bad as a misapplied label.
This hazard just comes with the job.
I told you it was thankless, didn't I?
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