a poem

I'm sharing a poem over on Chickadee Road today.

You can read it over here...

poem it out

poem it out

Maybe it is something about summer and the way my senses feel so intensely aware of the season or maybe it is how tender I feel some days as I try to find my way alongside a determined, super smart, but not talking a lot yet toddler or perhaps it is simply because working through Inner Excavation alongside a group of people has brought it up for me almost daily...but for some reason, I am turning to poetry even more than usual as a lifeline these days.

There is something about poets and the way they just get to the point. And then there is the way they hold up a mirror with their rawness and honesty and I am forced to let go of the "shoulds" and the "I thought I was the only one assumptions" because I see myself reflected.

And when I give myself the gift of just one minute alone to breathe deeply and try to get out of my head, I find myself hearing a line of poetry within that quiet. Sometimes I rush to get it down; sometimes I let it pass through me and travel out the open window.

Tonight, I sifted through a few pages of Pablo Neruda and felt a hunger to write more, to listen more to those words when they rise to the surface in the quiet, and honestly, it made me so glad that writing poetry in community won't end when Inner Excavate-along ends because the next session of Poem It Out begins July 30.

Creating Poem It Out broke me open. I let all of my love of poetry fly out of me from the place where I had been keeping it a bit too contained for one reason or another. It flew out of me and onto the page where I rearranged it and created an outline that became a course for others to join me in a poeming adventure. 

And as we worked through the class together, I began to realize that poeming feels like a way of living. It is a way to be present and open to this moment right here. It is way to sift through what has been. It is an access point for joy, beauty, and truth.

Here are a few words from participants of the last session:

So many things are coming to the surface for me as I soak in each lesson. So many doors opening inside me. Stories emerging. I have taken so many notes and have scribbled things down I don't want to forget...This is a whole new approach to writing for me and I am digging deep in my dig site. It is a comfort to know I am not alone...I love your videos and love hearing your voice. I wish I could hear you read a poem every single day. I feel so safe here. My heart is opening; my stories are emerging. I knew this class was going to be good, but I had no idea I would go so deep. 
Jennifer Belthoff, Spring 2012 participant

I took this course to renew my love for poetry. I thought it would ignite a spark that was lying dormant within for quite some time...It did all that and so much more. I look at things more deeply, I listen carefully to words spoken around me, I look at the beauty of my world, I read more intently, collecting thoughts and words along the way. This course came at the perfect time in my life and gave me my voice back, thank you for that. 
Donna Wynn, Spring 2012 participant

And one of my favorite middle of the night emails I've ever received:

It's 1:02 AM and I am snuggled in bed with my husband asleep beside me (hardly ever awake at this hour; at least not by choice) searching for and reading poetry on my iPhone. I just thought you might like to know this as I wonder whether Poem It Out can just go on forever.

Paula Moritz, Spring 2012 participant 

I'm telling you all of this today because this is what I know: You are a poet.

Yes.

You.

(Seriously.)

And if you are looking for a safe, fun, real space to begin to or continue to explore the world of poetry, as a reader and a writer, I would love for you to come along.

Read more about Poem It Out, including the FAQ over here.

i come to the water

When Jon and I visited Manzanita this spring, I spent some time on the beach by myself and decided to simply film myself walking on the sand toward the ocean (inspired by Jen Gray's walking videos). While I was walking, Jon was taking photos from the deck of the house we were visiting, unbeknownst to me. I didn't know if I would use this footage, but as I was slowly walking toward the waves, I began to think about how coming to the water and breathing in the air invites me to feel grounded. And, it also invites me to feel a closeness with my grandmother. My family and I have spent a lot of time at the ocean, and I feel them surround me, the best of our times together fill me up, when I hear the waves crashing and feel sand underneath my feet.

As I stood staring at the sparkle atop the water, I thought about how even in the shadows of grief, of deeply missing my grandmother, there is light. I feel that light within, and when at the water, I am reminded of this truth. Then I remembered a poem I had written about why I come to the water, and the idea for this video was born.