A Glimpse of Starlight

Hey friends! NaPo has been so-so—I’m on track but I’m not super excited about any of my poems. But that’s art, I guess. You love 1% of what you make and trash (or kindly pat and put in a drawer) the rest. But without the 99% you don’t get the few you love, right?? Okay, I’m done hyping myself up. I hope your Aprils have been lovely. <33

This poem, however, wasn’t for NaPo. It was part of a contest at my school, and it won?! The best part is the ice cream prize. I’m very thankful to the friends & roommates who looked it over and suggested some great edits. The prompt was to write about reconciliation, and the book we used for inspiration for this competition was Marilynne Robinson’s storming gorgeous Gilead, which is where the first line is from.

“I don’t forgive him. I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

.

Begin here: with the sunrise soaring over the sea 

Unstoppable, a silent roar and sweet fury, 

Gathering us all as its crop, reaping what has grown 

Of our love and our hate, shaking the latter from us 

Like chaff, sowing us again, side-by-side, 

In the soil of our tears. The sun full-grown kisses us: 

_______begin here.