So fun to read your poetic rendering of this after hearing your not-unpoetic, but not poetic telling of it! So many beautiful images in this one. I think my favorite line may be "Loving everything is a dangerous religion." Amen.
“I’m trying to keep the bar low here, for my own sake, so that I’ll keep showing up, keep writing. But I’d like to lower the bar for all of us. When it comes to creativity, perfectionism harms more often than it helps.”
I love this! Go you and your creative bravery! Thank you for modeling it for the rest of us.
I recently wrote a poem that fits your prompt perfectly. I am not 100% confident in it, but I am going to take your lead and share it here.
Kimberly, thank you so much for your kind words, and thank you even more for your poem, which I absolutely adore! The title, the imagery, the landing . . . wow, it packs a big punch in a small space!
Thank you so much, Lisa—for your meaningful affirmation and for the bravery you model that helped me share. Stepping out of our comfort zone is daunting but empowering!
What an experience, Lisa! I've never encountered a bear on a trail, and though I want to see one in real life, I really don't want to (but I do). Lord knows what I'd do and what old hymn I'd sing out of fear. Amazing Grace? I'd probably quote Psalm 23.
And what you've written tells the story wonderfully. It shows the tension, the fear and brings the reader along the way. If you feel it might be trying to do too much, then, if you don't mind, I would suggest thinking about what you want the reader to experience. Find that core and revisit the poem to see what is working and what may not be. Keep writing, my friend. And be safe out there!
Haha, what an excellent guess . . . I was alternately belting "Amazing Grace" and "Come Thou Fount" on the walk out. I hope you get to see your bear someday, but at a more comfortable distance than my most recent encounter!
Lisa! This compelling and gorgeous meander quickened my breath along with yours.
I've always said that my spirit animal is a dog with it's head out a car window. I have definitely been on quite the ride lately and i'm desperately hoping to get that window rolled back down before summer's end. Miss you!
I think I’m a solid 50% golden retriever, so I love this and can totally relate! 😂 I’m wishing you all the windows down and just the right amount of wind in your face, dear!
This poem was incredible and I'm so glad I caught it-- the sacred word choices didn't go unappreciated.
It's past my bed time, but I shall dream of your bear family. I will ponder the cardinals and blue jays. They always find a way to get what they need from my back yard.
This prompt could fire up a few poems! Thank you for your insightful work. 🔮
This poem carried me onto the trail with you and the mama. Your imagery and verbs created a vivid moving picture and you developed a cadence that became song. So apt.
Thank you so much, Kim! It was a strange experience - so much beauty and transcendence and fear all in one hike. I think maybe that's why I struggled to write this poem and still feel like I want to try approaching it a few different ways!
Thank you, Wes! I think it's now officially one of my favorite places, too! I'm so glad to have met you, and I really enjoyed your class . . . I'm a big fan of anyone who tells me to follow the wild path of my own obsessions (rather than trying to tame them).
I wish you could have seen my face break into a smile when I reached the lines "not one, but three small hummingbirds / in a row on the clothesline, resting together." I felt like I was right there with you! Life definitely is not the worst thing we've got. Thank you for sharing this lovely poem and encounter, Torben!
So fun to read your poetic rendering of this after hearing your not-unpoetic, but not poetic telling of it! So many beautiful images in this one. I think my favorite line may be "Loving everything is a dangerous religion." Amen.
Thank you so much, friend! A dangerous religion, and still the one I am trying to live!
What a magical encounter. Really enjoyed this poem.
Thank you so much, MK! It was quite an experience!
“Through the trees, light slips,
drips its paint ever lower,
blazes a trunk, a fern, my feet.
•
Light, life, ground
continue their slow
covenant with gravity,
bit by bit unraveling. I want to unspool
so beautifully.”
•
What a beautiful image and sentiment! ❤️
“I’m trying to keep the bar low here, for my own sake, so that I’ll keep showing up, keep writing. But I’d like to lower the bar for all of us. When it comes to creativity, perfectionism harms more often than it helps.”
I love this! Go you and your creative bravery! Thank you for modeling it for the rest of us.
I recently wrote a poem that fits your prompt perfectly. I am not 100% confident in it, but I am going to take your lead and share it here.
My Alter Ego Wears Feathers
•
She came to me in a dream,
a great black bird,
her plumage ravaged,
skeletal feathers improbably grasping the air,
effortlessly keeping pace with my vehicle
as if, adversity be damned,
she was daring me to fly.
Kimberly, thank you so much for your kind words, and thank you even more for your poem, which I absolutely adore! The title, the imagery, the landing . . . wow, it packs a big punch in a small space!
Thank you so much, Lisa—for your meaningful affirmation and for the bravery you model that helped me share. Stepping out of our comfort zone is daunting but empowering!
Incredibly great poem Lisa.
Absolutely gorgeous. I'm glad I found you and I would be subbing for more.
I'd like if you could check out my pieces and kindly connect (sub) back if it resonates.
I would love your thoughts.
https://lawrenceomoregiejr.substack.com/p/burnt-bridges?r=3g3d4k&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Do have a great read and a lovely day As we grow together here
Thank you, Lawrence! It's lovely to "meet" you. I look forward to checking out your Substack!
Lovely, it would be great to hear your thoughts
What an experience, Lisa! I've never encountered a bear on a trail, and though I want to see one in real life, I really don't want to (but I do). Lord knows what I'd do and what old hymn I'd sing out of fear. Amazing Grace? I'd probably quote Psalm 23.
And what you've written tells the story wonderfully. It shows the tension, the fear and brings the reader along the way. If you feel it might be trying to do too much, then, if you don't mind, I would suggest thinking about what you want the reader to experience. Find that core and revisit the poem to see what is working and what may not be. Keep writing, my friend. And be safe out there!
Haha, what an excellent guess . . . I was alternately belting "Amazing Grace" and "Come Thou Fount" on the walk out. I hope you get to see your bear someday, but at a more comfortable distance than my most recent encounter!
Oh, this is a glorious poem. I am right there with you. Parts of it just sing.
Thank you so much, friend!
Lisa! This compelling and gorgeous meander quickened my breath along with yours.
I've always said that my spirit animal is a dog with it's head out a car window. I have definitely been on quite the ride lately and i'm desperately hoping to get that window rolled back down before summer's end. Miss you!
I think I’m a solid 50% golden retriever, so I love this and can totally relate! 😂 I’m wishing you all the windows down and just the right amount of wind in your face, dear!
This poem was incredible and I'm so glad I caught it-- the sacred word choices didn't go unappreciated.
It's past my bed time, but I shall dream of your bear family. I will ponder the cardinals and blue jays. They always find a way to get what they need from my back yard.
This prompt could fire up a few poems! Thank you for your insightful work. 🔮
Thank you so much, Tabitha! I’d love to read anything you might write about cardinals or blue jays or dream bears!
Thank you. I've got a couple lines …
This poem carried me onto the trail with you and the mama. Your imagery and verbs created a vivid moving picture and you developed a cadence that became song. So apt.
Thank you so much, Kim! It was a strange experience - so much beauty and transcendence and fear all in one hike. I think maybe that's why I struggled to write this poem and still feel like I want to try approaching it a few different ways!
Love this poem, Lisa! Pine Mountain is one of my favorite places. It was great getting to know you at Hindman!
Thank you, Wes! I think it's now officially one of my favorite places, too! I'm so glad to have met you, and I really enjoyed your class . . . I'm a big fan of anyone who tells me to follow the wild path of my own obsessions (rather than trying to tame them).
Almost feeling weightless under the blanket
Lost in some unspecified pleasant musing
Nevertheless, I stirred,
Reluctant to haul myself upright,
Toss the covers aside and armor up my vision
With scratched up spectacles that I need
Against a blurry world of known and unknown danger,
My list of unfinished everything stretching out
Into the distant future of a cold and foggy
San Francisco summer morning.
While looking out to the grey beyond the yard
I was surprised to see
Not one, but three small hummingbirds
In a row on the clothesline, resting together
From their sometimes-ceaseless quest for nectar,
As Yogi the cat, oblivious to the birds,
Taps my thigh with her paw
To remind me of the ritual morning brushing,
And I smell the coffee that Libby has brewed.
The words of Benny Andersen,
"Life is not the worst thing we've got,"
Fill my head as we sing,
"Life used to be so hard, now everything is easy, 'cause of you."
I wish you could have seen my face break into a smile when I reached the lines "not one, but three small hummingbirds / in a row on the clothesline, resting together." I felt like I was right there with you! Life definitely is not the worst thing we've got. Thank you for sharing this lovely poem and encounter, Torben!
I am totally one of those people too:)
Dangerous religion 🖤
Sister of my soul! I knew it! 🥰