Metanoia
I am the man warming my hands by this fire. I am the person who feels understood.
I have been lately toying with the imagery of language as a fire around which people might gather. Men and women stretch out their hands toward the warmth of words that finally, somehow, cause each one huddled there around the flames—backs against the cold—to recognize them as their own. (As Above, so below.)
When one of them glances up from his own soul on display, he—in all his his-ness—sees in the eyes of an Other standing there in the circle across from him that she feels the same, until she—in all her her-ness—is not an Other, and they are the Same.
And there is only One Word. One Flame.
Such is the language of poetry: the erasure not of distinction, but of division.
Thanks for being here. If you’re down to put a Vanilla Latte’s worth of dollars into becoming a paid subscriber — a pretty-cheap way to support me as a writer — I won’t argue with you. ❤️
What follows is distinctly Corey Kilgannon, and it is so his that it is mine.
Yours too, if you’ll let it be.
The fire is on the inside.
I met my favorite lyricist at a house show we played together in Nashville, TN. Luckily, I’m skilled enough at tempering my inner super-fan so as not to have choked out the seed of friendship planted, then. We’ve both lived and died a few times, since. Corey’s words have helped me in and out of many graces. Breathed life into dry bones. I’ve got Montauk II inside of my head and Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid, Yes? on all night drives and while the latter might be true, I’m glad he’s said the things he’s said, regardless.
No matter how frustrating it is when that which risks leaving the emptiness to dance on the tips of our tongues (or pens) retreats before taking any definable shape, so much of poetry (and G*d) is in the space between and around the definitions we are so hellbent (quite literally) on creating. What follows in these pages is that space—that salvation—worked out through fear and trembling, limping for having gotten close enough to touch (oh, the danger and the intimacy!) and thorned.
In the words of James Finley, this is “Language in the service of the Unsayable.”
He expounds, “In the process of healing, in a moment where a person risks sharing what hurts the most, in the presence of someone who will not invade them or abandon them, they unexpectedly come upon, within themselves, the Pearl of Great Price.”
From my vantage point, these pages are that process on full display, and it is for having gone through it, himself, that Corey is able to be that presence for others where we—held here in the tension of becoming a softening—might discover a pearl worth selling everything for, ourselves.
I am the man warming my hands by this fire. I am the person who feels understood.
What a gift it is to be both deeply seen and wholly loved at the same time. Corey has played an instrumental role in helping me believe that can be true. That it is a possible reality to live inside of.
Perhaps, even, that it is easy and light.
Thank you Corey.
Levi Macallister
July 2, 2024
There is no poem here.
Only a description of the path.
From madness to sanity.
From chaos to stillness.
From paranoia, to Metanoia.
May it serve someone, in some way.
Corey Kilgannon
👆 I was honored to write the above letter as an introduction to Corey Kilgannon’s new book of poetry, Metanoia, which he wrote and assembled over the course of the past five years. I spent the first part of this year helping him lay out and publish it, and the hardback edition (which just so happens to be the only edition) is now available. I mean it when I say that Corey is my favorite lyricist, and his poetry is as much a reflection of the beauty his songs contain as anything else he sets his mind to accomplishing.
You can also find and subscribe to
’s Substack here: .Joy wants to be shared, and participating in this project has brought me joy. There is an element of the Luminous that shines through Corey’s cultivation of it, and I wanted to share it with you today.
P.S. If you’re a human being interested in creative expression, but you’re not quite sure where or how to start (or perhaps you’re well enough on your way, wondering how to bring it all together), I’ve got a couple of resources I’d like to invite you to check out:
Clothes For Ghosts: Using Writing to Give Bodies to the Haunted Parts of You. This is an e-course that I just released last week, which I created to help people use writing as a means of exploration and excavation. I took some of the most common themes I’ve noticed in my one-on-one sessions with creative coaching clients throughout the years and synthesized them into an at-your-own-pace series of teachings and practices designed to help folks create curious conversations and connections with themselves, others and—perhaps—The Other. You can find out more about it here.
Coffee Dates. Have a question? Need a poetry lesson? Writing, performance, tour, booking or marketing advice? Wanna talk about life? Wanna do a deeper dive into your writing with a hand to hold along the way? Let’s meet! And if you’d rather bring a bourbon (or a water) I won’t complain. Tell me a little bit more about yourself and book a Coffee Date here.