In 1998 I met Monica. She knocked my socks off. We became life partners. Early in our meetings I began to create these 3”x3” watercolors, eventually put them together into a small book, titled a “Book of Darlings”.
In 2013 Monica died, after dealing with cancer for six years. A week after her death, a mutual friend invited me to a small, 3 person, yoga class. Driving home afterwards, this poem arrived through me(from Monica?):
I can never see enough Beauty,
For if I saw it All,
I would be seeing You, again.
Off to my left, a rainbow appeared in the sky, I wept as I drove. Monica’s gift.
"Eat good food. Not too much. Mostly plants.' Michael Pollen. And the one that personally always makes me laugh in my household is my children's succinct, "Classic Mom." No explanation to me, but they apparently all understand what it means.
And yes, congratulations on your new book, Padraig. Will order from our local book store.
I just started reading Michelle Norris’s new book, Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity. Ten years ago she started leaving post cards wherever she went. On the card were the words: Race. Your thoughts. 6 Words. Please send. Postcards started to fill her mailbox and a 500 page book is the result. A lot can be said in 6 words. I’ll see you in Chestertown.
I love short books and can’t wait for yours. I like poems because you can memorize and internalize them, and they can become a part of you. Love the story about your niece. My son at about that age told me I wasn’t a real teacher, so I can relate.
Sometimes all it takes is a single line in a poem to give you the boost you need. To be able to say "I wrote that!" with a mix of pride and wonder is a drug we can all get hooked on. I don't think a whole book - anyone's whole book - can ever be great; but if it's wonderful in enough small places, well, what more do you need..?
One of my closest friends for almost 40 years was diagnosed with Alzheimers recently. We live far from each other for the last 30 of them but it hasn't mattered. When her news was first most raw, in conversation I wrote her a text which said "when we get big diagnoses, no matter how miserable we are or how much suffering, life still waits for us to muster living into its holiness as much as we can". I'm not sure how much these words comforted her but these until then unformed words sure have been a prayer that has long comforted me.
Postcards, my favorite short note. Always when on vacation. Sometimes from home. I’m on vacation now and sent a card to a newer acquaintance and got an email back, “you made my day, thank you.”
My cat got sick on my couch comforter, so I grabbed the whole mess and tossed it in the wash machine. I didn’t realize Poetry Unbound had also been caught up in the cleanup. The next morning I opened the lid to find the book transformed into little popcorn shreds of wet and matted paper; even the hard bound cover— disintegrated. Then my friend suggested I spread some for the birds in the spring so they could line their nests with poems. Yes, I think so.
I am thinking of WS Merwin's "Elegy," the poem in it's entirety: "Who would I show it to." I also tried to write a poem after m y father's death and three lines came one night so I write them down. In the morning I realized it was the whole thing. "I don't know what to say/Maybe it is too soon/Maybe too late."
I have a tendency to go on at length when asked to answer a question verbally. I'm literally thinking through the answer as I speak and I think this is sometimes effective and sometimes burdensome to the listener on the other side of the question.
To counter the amount of noise I bring into the world, I've started trying to write very brief and positive email and text replies to close friends and colleagues. Such as "Understood. Onward!" or "Got it. Let's move." It's a small gesture but my hope is that the brevity conveys a simple statement that they are on the right hunt and have my full support.
I write poems which does not make me a poet, but my favorite challenging form is that of haiku, so much to say, so little room to say it. It does not mean I am successful, but I appreciate how the form can elevate my sarcasm. Thank you for here.
Congratulations, Pádraig, on submitting the text for your new book!
Brevity in writing: everything I write (for work) needs shortening. I am not always successful at getting my point across with fewer words.
Back a few years ago when Twitter was a more friendly place, putting together words to be under the character count was a challenge that I thought helped to hone messages to be more succinct.
I write lots of very small poems and often like them a lot. In fact, some of them might be my favourite ones that I've written, but it's difficult to know what their home might be, other than my notebook or my notes app. They feel both important (to me) and a little bit paltry when I think of someone else reading them.
Here's a seven-word poem by Andrea Cohen called "Refusal to Mourn:"
"In lieu of / flowers, send / him back."
https://jewishcurrents.org/refusal-to-mourn
In 1998 I met Monica. She knocked my socks off. We became life partners. Early in our meetings I began to create these 3”x3” watercolors, eventually put them together into a small book, titled a “Book of Darlings”.
In 2013 Monica died, after dealing with cancer for six years. A week after her death, a mutual friend invited me to a small, 3 person, yoga class. Driving home afterwards, this poem arrived through me(from Monica?):
I can never see enough Beauty,
For if I saw it All,
I would be seeing You, again.
Off to my left, a rainbow appeared in the sky, I wept as I drove. Monica’s gift.
“I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one.” (quote attributed to Mark Twain)
"Eat good food. Not too much. Mostly plants.' Michael Pollen. And the one that personally always makes me laugh in my household is my children's succinct, "Classic Mom." No explanation to me, but they apparently all understand what it means.
And yes, congratulations on your new book, Padraig. Will order from our local book store.
I just started reading Michelle Norris’s new book, Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity. Ten years ago she started leaving post cards wherever she went. On the card were the words: Race. Your thoughts. 6 Words. Please send. Postcards started to fill her mailbox and a 500 page book is the result. A lot can be said in 6 words. I’ll see you in Chestertown.
Instructions for Living A Life
Pay Attention
Be Astonished
Tell About It
- Mary Oliver
I love short books and can’t wait for yours. I like poems because you can memorize and internalize them, and they can become a part of you. Love the story about your niece. My son at about that age told me I wasn’t a real teacher, so I can relate.
Sometimes all it takes is a single line in a poem to give you the boost you need. To be able to say "I wrote that!" with a mix of pride and wonder is a drug we can all get hooked on. I don't think a whole book - anyone's whole book - can ever be great; but if it's wonderful in enough small places, well, what more do you need..?
A daily reminder and breath prayer for spaciousness:
“Empty me.”
One of my closest friends for almost 40 years was diagnosed with Alzheimers recently. We live far from each other for the last 30 of them but it hasn't mattered. When her news was first most raw, in conversation I wrote her a text which said "when we get big diagnoses, no matter how miserable we are or how much suffering, life still waits for us to muster living into its holiness as much as we can". I'm not sure how much these words comforted her but these until then unformed words sure have been a prayer that has long comforted me.
Postcards, my favorite short note. Always when on vacation. Sometimes from home. I’m on vacation now and sent a card to a newer acquaintance and got an email back, “you made my day, thank you.”
My cat got sick on my couch comforter, so I grabbed the whole mess and tossed it in the wash machine. I didn’t realize Poetry Unbound had also been caught up in the cleanup. The next morning I opened the lid to find the book transformed into little popcorn shreds of wet and matted paper; even the hard bound cover— disintegrated. Then my friend suggested I spread some for the birds in the spring so they could line their nests with poems. Yes, I think so.
I am thinking of WS Merwin's "Elegy," the poem in it's entirety: "Who would I show it to." I also tried to write a poem after m y father's death and three lines came one night so I write them down. In the morning I realized it was the whole thing. "I don't know what to say/Maybe it is too soon/Maybe too late."
I have a tendency to go on at length when asked to answer a question verbally. I'm literally thinking through the answer as I speak and I think this is sometimes effective and sometimes burdensome to the listener on the other side of the question.
To counter the amount of noise I bring into the world, I've started trying to write very brief and positive email and text replies to close friends and colleagues. Such as "Understood. Onward!" or "Got it. Let's move." It's a small gesture but my hope is that the brevity conveys a simple statement that they are on the right hunt and have my full support.
I write poems which does not make me a poet, but my favorite challenging form is that of haiku, so much to say, so little room to say it. It does not mean I am successful, but I appreciate how the form can elevate my sarcasm. Thank you for here.
Example 1:
I say bathing suit,
but they are now called swimsuits.
You can still get wet.
Example 2:
The melting snowman
or the melting snowperson?
Melting, nonetheless.
Congratulations, Pádraig, on submitting the text for your new book!
Brevity in writing: everything I write (for work) needs shortening. I am not always successful at getting my point across with fewer words.
Back a few years ago when Twitter was a more friendly place, putting together words to be under the character count was a challenge that I thought helped to hone messages to be more succinct.
And here I am going on and on again...!
I write lots of very small poems and often like them a lot. In fact, some of them might be my favourite ones that I've written, but it's difficult to know what their home might be, other than my notebook or my notes app. They feel both important (to me) and a little bit paltry when I think of someone else reading them.