National Poetry Month
Y'all, sometimes I write poems --if you haven't noticed. ;-)
This month, I've joined the challenge to write a poem a day. It's a little nerve-wracking, and I wonder if it has to do with the flawed idea that creativity strikes on a whim. It really doesn't!
To remind myself of my creative abundance, I've committed to daily twenty minute doodling sessions for one hundred days. Eek! This is all thanks to the brilliant and encouraging nudge from Sara V. Cole Studios (you can check her out at https://www.saravcoleart.com/). She proposed #100daysofcreativebaddassery and I'm feeling like it is serving to recommit me to my art for art's sake. There's no plan -- just flow.
We've all experienced that inner monologue of doubt that prevents us from stepping into the creative abyss --that place of scary and exciting uncertainty. Even though I'm notorious for jumping down rabbit holes on a whim, the struggle is real! I'm finding that these quick meditations kind of work to take the pressure off of staring at a blank canvas and quite frankly, it just feels good to get something on the page without the pressure of having to delivery a final product. There's also something to be said about releasing myself from the need for perfection that can be so damn debilitating.
"Giving myself permission to put pen to paper without a plan or pressure toward a final product is it's own kind of magic."
Interestingly enough, at about the same time I said "hell yes!" to this challenge, another renaissance of a soul put out a call for National Poetry Month. The challenge was a poem a day, new writing only. I usually take days to marinate a poem, let it brew, mull it over, refine, revise, and let it sit in my journal before I unleash it to share. It definitely helps to surround yourself with folks who encourage your creativity! There's a kind of contagious magic that comes about when you reciprocate encouragement and a fierce commitment to your own game. You can check out LaQuisha Beckum's work to see what I mean over at https://a-world-of-tomorrow.teachable.com/ .
Giving myself permission to put pen to paper without a plan or pressure toward a final product is it's own kind of magic. As abundant as my creativity flow is, there's something about letting a poem simmer and breathe, and morph and grow that gives me just the dose of adrenaline that I need to just roll with it.
Y'all, kids are our hope. We owe them better. Learn from them. They come to us with so much wisdom, abundance, and generosity of spirit.
These poems are my offering to ground me in the work that I do, while inviting all of y'all to tap into that childish spirit where hope makes all things possible.
con safos y tecpatl