7DAYS´INTERVIEW: Lawrence Belloti

POETIC FEELINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS

By Sonia Golt

I met Lawrence Belloti a few years ago by pure chance and we got talking, him, his girlfriend, and me, about the beauty of poetry. I was highly impressed with his facility to convey on paper beautiful feelings and emotions of love. He has gone through a lot in his life but this has not deterred his love for poetry and his easy going attitude. He loves his stop for coffee at the Eliott's hotel each day and there he speaks to a lot of people who love to see him around. His love for poetry is paramount, he always carries one or two of his poems with him and can delight you with it if you have the time to sit and listen to an array of beautiful words. We are all busy people nowadays but we need to take time to listen to the birds, see the flowers or hear beautiful poetry…

"I love to write for people in Hospitals, to try and brighten up their illness by inspiring their thoughts! I write at home or anywhere for that matter, and I like to think that my poems might convey a message of hope to people who may be lonely or broken hearted as through my poems I try to convey a message of love, understanding and kindness"

It is so true that Lawrence has a soft spot for those needing help as he is a very kind man that is sometimes not fully understood by others. Amazing that in such a small community as ours and in such a charitable community too we may sometimes not see that there are people needing to be listened to. I am glad I found that time to speak to Lawrence for I learnt a lot from him. Lawrence has a wonderful philosophy of life as regards to helping those in need and that is a wonderful asset to have.

The poet can be a person of strange moods, and composing poems can help us focus on our feelings and on who we are. Poetry is a spontaneous flow of powerful feelings and as Justin Stone, the founder of Tai-chi-chi said "In this world it is best to have a little poetry in you!"

Lawrence started writing poetry at a very tender age and his very first poem was written when he was at the Gibraltar Grammar School, funnily enough he wrote it in Spanish and called it "El Rio" - it had such beauty that his schoolteacher decided to publish it in the School Magazine, this was in 1966, since then there has been no stopping Lawrence from publishing his poems in various local Newspapers like the Gibraltar Chronicle and of course 7Days. His poems have also been published in religious journals.

"At school I found literature a bit dry and old fashioned and this is what made me prefer writing light hearted poems so people of all ages, including children could enjoy them. Sometimes I find people are very reserved and even introspect and have difficulty with having relationships of any kind, so due to this I wanted to help by expressing ideas in a way that comes easy to me. I feel many emotions within me and some I talk about and share with my many good friends in conversation, but other times it is my pen and paper that take up my ideas so others can and hopefully enjoy later - it is a way of saying that someone out there does care for you."

I want to include Lawrence's first poem in this article so you can understand the depth of his feelings and find your own personal interpretation of the meaning, other than what it conveys…read within and in between the lines!

"El Rio"

Rio lento que murmuras
Y que fluyes felizmente
Cerca esta la embocadura
Pero segues indiferente
Tu lenguaje es algo Nuevo
Es misterioso y extrano
Como estrellas a lo lejos
Que sonrien y no hacen dano
Yo ayer fui a tu lado
Escuche lo que decias
Y alli quede sentado
Lleno de tu poesia

El peligro se aproxima
Olas grandes te amenazan
Ya el mar esta encima
Ni tus fuerzas lo rechasan
Sigue alegre, rio lento
No te asustes del destino
Porque en mi pensamiento
Sequire yo tu camino

To write poetry it is essential to read a lot of poetry in your youth. Listening to poetry or poetry recitals is also essential and once you feel ready to put pen to paper and to express your feelings and emotions in writing then you have to read your poems to yourself aloud so you perceive how the rest of the world will receive it.

The best moments for a poet to write are when he/she is going through an extremely happy moment in life and is spiritually at peace. This is when the beautiful inspirational poems are written. When things are hard and you feel low and let down via a break up, bereavement, loss of job or let down in general then this is when deep emotional poetry is written.

The beauty of poetry can come from simple words and can sometimes be compared to the lyrics of a song, except it is not accompanied by music. But when poetry is recited, it must be like music to your ears. Poetry is a form of culture that as well as teaching you touches your feelings and even makes you change your attitude to situations while at the same time it can entertain you.

THE RAINBOW

The rainbow is made
Of many different colours
Smiling pleasantly in the sky
Bestowing its joy upon us

It lightens with warmth
Our tired and weary hearts
Bringing so much love
That from us never parts

How beautiful to see
How marvellous the feeling
Setting our minds at ease
And sending our souls reeling

Its wonders is everywhere
As we look at it with awe
Helping us along the way
To reach the distant shore

May the rainbow in your life
Be ever colourful and new
Full of days with gladness
Fresh as the morning dew.

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