Happy Monday and happy first week of NaPo for those doing it in May! I’ve managed to keep up with a poem a day, and so far I haven’t hit any major blocks. Some days were harder and less satisfying than others, but it’s been wonderful to be writing poetry so consistently again. So far I’ve simply gone with whatever idea pops into my head and whatever style seems to fit it. Once life settles down, I hope to practice some specific forms, like villanelles and sonnets. Without further ado, here are my favorites from week one.
letter-basket
day one
~
sit on the floor in the cold closet,
feet tucked underneath
lift down the basket, purple
like happiness
and nostalgic sorrow
~
deep breath, close eyes, shiver
this a sacred moment
reach out a hand, touch
the first paper,
fingers tingle
~
lift each memento out,
slowly, savoring the feel,
savoring the feeling, tears
from emotions
you can’t untangle, name
~
open the card, read,
forget the cold and hard floor
read and remember: hellos,
aching good-byes
all the in-betweens
~
finish paging through,
let the last page fall back
press lips together, heart
all scarred
from opening up to love
~
hug knees to chest,
rocking on the rough rug
wordsmith without words, mind
too full, a blur
of emotions and memories
~
release a shaky breath,
let the chill wash over
and soothe the wounds, whisper
the only thing to say:
thank you.
~
thank you for the joys,
laughter, hugs, the not alone-ness
thank you for the griefs,
the goodbyes
that taught courage and cost
~
thank you for the lasting
through the time and space
thank you for the ending,
change that
blossoms into better
~
rise on creaky knees,
sniff and smile
put back the basket, purple
like flowers
and clouds heavy with rain
fear
day 3
Flogging your soul like
Everything you’ve ever known
About God and grace is a
Ruse, like redemption isn’t real.
Let There Be Light
day 6 // Gen. 1:3
Eternity hangs suspended in silence,
The breaths of a billion unborn souls held.
The Glory, the Name, opens His mouth,
The Power who stands outside of time
Speaks the first second of time
And proclaims five words that shatter the forever:
Let there be light!
Beams of joy burn through the vast emptiness,
And millennia later the thought of that moment
Still stirs souls with a song too divine
Because light, light, sublime and glorious light!—
But it would not have been so brilliant
Had the utter darkness not existed first.
I Do Not Want a Safe Life
day 8 // inspired by a quote in N. D. Wilson’s Outlaws of Time: “But I only get one life story. I don’t want mine to be safe. I want it to be worth writing a book about.”
Stay safe, they say,
Be smart and safe!
Safety first,
Like safety is all that matters.
I do not want a safe life.
I want an adventure life.
I want a push to the limit
And then some life,
A life of blood and scars and struggle
And the elation of victory,
Of succeeding despite the odds.
I want a radical life.
I want a stand against the crowd,
Me contra mundum life,
A life of loneliness and scorn and danger
And the courage of standing up,
Of defending truth in an age of lies.
I want a full life.
I want a dare to dream big
And never say impossible life,
A life of vulnerability and sacrifice and sorrow
And the rewards of opening myself up to love,
Of being brave enough to laugh in the night.
Safety first, they say.
Protect your life!
Surely there are bigger things
To put first.
Surely there are other lives
To protect.
I don’t care who tells my story,
As long as it is a story worth the telling.
And safe stories?
They aren’t stories at all.
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