A Glimpse of Starlight

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.