A beautiful walk in the city
is still a beautiful walk.
Hello and a warm and cozy Monday evening to you all!
I meant to get this out to you many hours ago, but you know how some days are. Anyway, I hope this still finds you at a time that is good for poetry.
I’m going to keep this short, as I’m really just eager to share with you a poem I’ve been working on. This one isn’t available in print form yet and I haven’t released it anywhere else, but… how would y’all feel about seeing this with some other poems in something book-y soon? :) I think it’s time.
And my question/writing prompt for you this week: What is something you found hard to love at first but now is something you can’t imagine doing without, and what was it that changed for you?
Looking forward to discussing this and more next week with those of you who are Daylily members. If you’re interested in tuning in for more in-depth discussion, you can join us by subscribing here.
And now, a poem:
Meanwhile, I go
I moved to a home in the city, so I planted some trees, so I look to them often to stay rooted. This is what I know is true, that a beautiful walk in the city is still a beautiful walk; a beautiful home, still a beautiful home, only you have to work a bit harder to get your favorite birds to come, to love the ones already here. To love them it helps to know their names. The song sparrow is plain, poorly dressed, but oh can she sing. And it won’t be soon our young red maple can host their songs herself, but it will be. I am okay waiting because I must. Meanwhile, I go to the bakery, I go to the market, I watch my son touch flowers where he finds them, growing too from side yards, from window boxes, from bee gardens, from every little give in the old concrete.
My first thought was avocados 🥑 (bizarre, right?!? Lol). I’m no poet, but here’s a stab at this:
An ode to avocados
Oh avocado
How did I ever dislike you?
Was it a lack of familiarity?
Subpar quality in the cold north east?
Or the fact that my ex despised you so?
It’s no wonder when I divorced
(And subsequently found myself)
That I also found you, little avocado
Few things surpass the joy of cutting into the soft flesh of an avocado,
And finding it just perfectly ripe!
You glide like butter onto my toast
I sprinkle my cracked black pepper on top
This is perfection in a bite!
Oh avocado
I do love you so
May you always be in my life
A reminder that I can continue to grow and change
So beautiful, Torri. :) Thank you for sharing! I think mine is playing violin by ear. Here's my writing thoughts.
For years, sheet music was it.
Bars hemming me in like columns,
No room for childlike wiggling
No spontaneous trills.
The joy of the orchestra,
Of collective breathing and the
Tapping of toes
And weaving lines of uniqueness
Together
Were beautiful, but
I always knew there was more.
From the first time I saw a fiddler
My mind exploded.
The bare feet,
The lack of time signature
The freedom of expression
Moved me to tears.
Eight-year-old me
Knew my current endeavors
Of sheet music and uniformity
Weren't what my soul wanted.
I persisted, though.
"Why do you move around so much?"
"Sit still."
But I couldn't.
Then came college.
Scared, new, deep.
A friend asked me
To be in a band.
I asked for music.
He laughed.
I didn't understand.
He strummed his guitar, then said
"Just pick a melody in this key."
And I laughed.
But not in the same way he did.
But then, then
I learned to love the mistakes,
To move with the moment
To let the flow of my blood
Define the melody
The timbre of my emotions influence
My phrasing for the better.
And that has made all the difference.
Dancing outside in the forest
With my violin
Is where I'm at my happiest,
My most free.
It's not perfect, but what is? :) Thanks for giving us this prompt, Torri!