INKWINGS WRITING ADVENTURE
My friend from New Jersey Linda Lanza invited me to join her class to undertake a writing adventure. Linda started the course at the outbreak of the coronavirus in the USA to help friends navigate a path through the virus lockdowns. I would like to keep a record of what I wrote during those sessions. I will also jot down the a number of words that have been floating around during our sessions:
ONE-LINERS
pick one leaf not the whole forest
what did the writing tell you
we are still in the boat
the dependable colours of old friends
the nurturing that is love
I see many things on the back of my eyelids
hate bites, joy sings
death divides, memory clings
IDEAS
swept away two words seen on a River Derwent walk in March 2020
WORDS caught
nourishment, food, friends, mother, father, freedom, acceptance, love, peace, comfort, space, freedom, burn tear, dissolve, share, save, raw, write, spring, seeds, courage, see, say, feel, thing, vessel, reflection, relief, pause, peach, recess, trill, curls, elegant, finite, perfume, daisies, seconds, time, hour, day, slow, light, darkness, breathe, breath, sound, eyes, thread, sew, use, beauty, functional, dissolve, elusive, sensible, lonely, alone, elusive, intrepid, plant, blossoms, bloom, fortify, smoke, sleep, think, more to come
RAMBLINGS
seeds of the pen, the brush, a song,
a poem, lessons learned
lessons taught to keep my world turning
my mind working, my days tuned
in tune with the planted seeds
floating on this river of life
precarious as it is right now
aware of the river, the banks, the drifters
suddenly the world slammed shut
to be opened anew when the scattered seeds crack open
to reveal the new way forward
an endless afternoon became more apparent
time went by
pain, loneliness, fright
how did this happen
how did I get to here
abandoned by the loved ones
my own fault, really? was it
tears again … again … a child
tears again … tears still
when things got hard
I used to drive and keep on driving
why did I do that
why not stop and stand my ground
it was easier then to keep on driving
a single glorious thing
start of a new life
I couldn’t see that then, why
why why why
where was my sense of self
I let go
of that single glorious thing
what is the use of beauty
if it is to die
as time engulfs us, instead
expose the inner beauty
in us all
a candle for the end
what end
my end of course
when will that be
shall I light it
not yet silly
there is a thread you follow
it swims it dives it travels
it has a path of it’s own
go with it
it’s stuck
hold on
it’s stuck again
hold on, hold on tight
-----------------------------------------
the line of the thread is writing
your life’s story
until that day comes
for you let go
the thread
it sews the body bags
slipped into unnamed boxes
buried deep
deep en masse
take heart, it’s not your turn
my reaction upon seeing hundreds of bodies buried at potter’s field on hart island
I am the thread
I glide through the eye of the needle
I sew my life as a tapestry
a coloured cloth of insatiable
want for knowledge
just like an undeniable tsunami
the ill-wind came so swiftly
quietly
scaring the people of earth
the wind swirls harshly
touching every corner of the earth
the ill-will stays
it traumatises all in it’s wake
taking it’s own slow journey
whence it came.
right down there
in the thick of things
some people run to the top of the mountain
some people hide
some people are left behind, but
some people stay behind for
those who can’t fend for themselves
right down there in the thick of things
is compassion
the work of the world
is as common as mud
to be of use in that world
you must dive right in to that mud
and work with it.
make things, beautiful things
functional and helpful things
give of yourself this mud you have molded
to be left behind
one person’s creative legacy
write, write, write
write with your hand,
write with your head, and
write with your heart.
time will give it to us
what we seek
be patient with time
be sensible
be aware
love those close
keep them safe
if you’re alone,
do not be lonely
use time wisely
and that elusive seed will come
