Congratulations to Justus Jericho for having their following poem chosen for publication on Blank Canvas Post. The poem that follows is a truly wonderful exploration of divinity, love, and expression. Please read the follow conversation between us at Blank Canvas Post and Justus Jericho to understand more about the writer and the context for this brilliant poem.
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Writer Spotlight: Justus Jericho
From Bangalore, in India, Justus Jericho has been sharing their writing on Substack for the last few months, but has been writing since the age of thirteen.
What was it that made you start writing?
Gods Glory and Grace that slowly unveiled itself at different stations of my life overwhelmed me...Writing made it easier for my soul to decipher him better...Slowly I started writing about different things too.
What experiences have you had that have shaped the writer you are today?
Entirely rejection, especially after me putting in EFFORT...
What genres are you writing at the moment? What genres do you enjoy writing?
Devotion, hopeless Romantics, dreamy poetry, I write anything and everything too overwhelming to be told aloud...and too much of an injustice to keep inside oneself.
What inspires you to write? Where do you take your inspiration from?
Mostly Bible, agony of reality and fragments of love that destiny seems to be sparing me on few days.
What does your writing process look like (e.g., environment, tools, setting)?
No details...No equipment...Just me isolation and God...I write and overthink. You are never unemployed if you are an over thinker.
What do you envisage when you are writing something new? Are you writing with the intention of sharing your work, or are you simply writing to write, for example?
I cant normalise one particular vision or reason for writing. My days are a mirrage of emotions, a maze of loneliness carrying a regret of loneliness. I usually write when I am struck with a doubt that I am not living my teenage. I sometimes write to share my work, to inspire people, to express my gratitude or grief to god and sometimes just to relate to someone, just to find my Tribe...where people don’t notice me, my looks or flaws but only my work as A FELLOW HUMAN....People don’t make art...its Art that makes People
At least for me it was never writing for the purpose of writing. My writings were always intentional, deep, overthought, perfected, they always pierced out throughout my walls of self doubt.
Why do you think community is important for writers and creative people?
Everyone needs a tribe, with whom they can laugh, cry, share thoughts, pain creativity. Writers are the most vulnerable beings on planet. They need no one for themselves but they need a tribe for their art. Writers tent to ignore their whole existence and make their art as their whole personality. Hence when rejection hits them , they are wounded on a personal level. They feel too deep.
They love sharing their work, and when they find a community that gets them, feels them. WRITERS FEEL SEEN AND LOVED ONLY WHEN THEIR READERS FEEL SEEN AND LOVED.
Not applause, Not noise, not loud hype...they just need THEIR READERS TO BE SEEN...TO BE KNOWN...FOR THEIR PEOPLE TO KNOW THEY ARE NOT ALONE.
Where do you currently share your work?
Only on substack and I’ve posted some pieces of my work on Instagram .... I would love yall to check Justusjericho on Instagram as well.
Why did you submit your work to Blank Canvas Post? What drew you to our publication?
I was at my lowest with me putting in effort but not receiving any response... I always loathed my gift of writing...cuz its no longer mainstream art at least not in the world we live in right now that has been numbed by AI and Internet.
I submitted to blank canvas as a hit and trial..I had no expectation of consideration by you...Ever grateful to be published by you.
About the Poem: Lord! Why?
Regarding Lord! Why?, what inspired you to write this piece?
Just a series of constant rejection and failure in the fields I loved over my own-self....It frustrated me, the world, its ignorance for literature, made me and my work feel worthless...
I couldn’t handle the pain and did THE ONLY THING I could do...I WROTE.
What is the context for this piece? What is the main feeling or message behind it?
It is pain, desperation, weight of failure and the price of isolation.
What was the process of writing this piece like for you? What did this process look like?
Worst...this work was painted with the salt of my tears and brought to life by a womb of devastation and disappointment.
Fear of uncertainty of future, silence that followed struggles and the distance that seems to appear between you and god during certain instances.
Why did you choose to submit this piece specifically to Blank Canvas Post?
I saw your ad on substack. Substack for me wasn’t that great of a platform considering that the followers stats didn’t match my posting effort.
So I submitted out of an instinct... I genuinely never thought my work would be chosen to be published.
So, without further ado, here is Lord! Why?, a poem written by Justus Jericho.
Lord! Why? by Justus Jericho
I was a simpleton in sought of sweet serenity A coward denying the deadly price of reality Times regret not fading faster than they were To end the journey, I promise to not remember Lord, why am I tested in a furnace unfavoured? Is my righteousness not worthy to be revered? How do I wait for your promises to be assured? And seek a sweetness I've not ever savoured? Obliged to prison my soul for my expectation Yet desiring to free the spirit for my anticipation Ordained to punish myself for being a believer Yet seeking to forgive her for being the dreamer Lord, why am I lost in the deadness of silence? Where's the rhyme, the rhythm, the resonance? Is my spirit not dear to you in juvenescence? Is this what I beget even in my senescence?
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I feel the sense of confusion here. Thank you. It's great to hear others express that succinctly. And I love your comment ... Writers are the most vulnerable beings on planet. They need no one for themselves but they need a tribe for their art. ... how true. Congratulations on some lovely insights.
Such an inspiring read through the questions and deep resonance with it all. The poem is golden. Celebrating you and this weird and wonderful path ✨♾️