she wished to glue
leaves of color back onto the limbs
unprepared for this season's shift
then frozen morning winds carried
a new consideration her way
could a breathe of chill be welcomed
like an unexpected guest
a dabbled hope through dark days?
she tries this thought on, not her usual
fashion, seeks to understand it's fittings
then opens her dormant suitcase
to laughter spilling out like sunshine
a reminder of past orbits around the sun
she has another day
of changing sky
and many clouds to capture
Noticings are always within reach if your eyes are open. A friend’s phone call, text photo, or cherished smile from six feet away can keep your cup from emptiness. Yet eventually days bleed into one another, months lose their borders, leaving Mondays indistinguishable. Where weeks fall like dominoes. Small routines within repeated walls lead to smaller and smaller thinking. Loneliness swallows you into the basket of its belly. Where over time depression feeds itself with handfuls of separation. It blindfolds your eyes so slowly you that you forget that sight has been lost. You stop moving, reaching out your arms. Until one morning’s shock of sunlight reminds you there is a world beyond this box called myself.
"The decision we face is not to chart the perfect way forward; it is simply to embark on a journey. Once we’ve taken a step forward, the work will teach us where to take a second step, and then a third, and so on. Purpose does not reveal itself to those sitting safely at the starting block. In other words, you don’t plan your way into finding your purpose. You live into it.”
- JacquelineNovogratz500th
I guess I can't call it an accident
it's time to admit, intentionality.
Claiming my inner poet five years ago
(a birthday gift to myself) has led to this
my 500th post. I would have given up
sharing, long ago, if it hadn't been for you
you reading, then reflecting back
your thoughts in return.
Knowing the aloneness of darkness
I started with the desire
to reach just one
share my flashlight
sit beside and just listen
and listen some more.
These years have brought your voices
on the breeze, across seas,
stanzas have sailed, flown
and walked themselves
beyond boundaries,
I have heard your hearts.
Together we are rewriting
a world through poetry.
Thank you for being a part of my journey.
I am here to serve you in yours.
I would love to write with you and hold space for your words.
Renewal Through Poetry: Introductory Writing Circles
March 7, 4:00 PM PST register here – Eventbrite
And so we grow,
In winds bent back
Against the storms
And lightning strikes.
Headlong,
Rise up,
Unfurl
In splendour
And well-lit grace
Of Swift footsteps
That forever change
And twist
In those brief sorrows
Of untrained reach
And growth in silent tears;
That dry in hope
And sunlight given.
flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw 