Seeking Balance
June Poetry Celebration ~ Letting Words Live, by Celaine Charles
The first Sunday of June welcomes with a poetry celebration. Beginning this ritual in March of 2018 has become my own monthly therapy check in. As you know, I post a new poem every Wednesday to my “Wednesday Whims of Poetry” page. What do I like about this page? It’s me. It’s raw. It’s whatever is on my mind at that very moment.
My poetry page: https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/
All art collected for today’s post created by artist and occupational therapist, Jen Gash: https://www.jengash.co.uk/
Poetry inspiration is its own journey. Sometimes I write poems over a long spell, and when they finally stand up and say stop, I post them. Other times, a poem bleeds out onto the page, to print right away. But all the time, this poetry page has been a place to journal my thoughts, my soul, and to test my range as the poet I want to be.
Study for 100 Years, By Jen Gash
Like another life inside, what spills out… spills out. I suppose the teacher in me uses it in that vulnerable way I aspire my students to compose. Always, I encourage them to put themselves out there. To draft the bad poem. To string together the wrong words, in order to find the beautiful ones to captivate the message intended. And when you think you’ve done it… don’t be afraid to share it. Or, don’t be afraid to change it.
Poetry develops over time. I’ve gone back to older poems and revised them into even more meaningful pieces. And yet, some poems remain as raw as the first moment they found the page. And I like it that way. I don’t want to follow literary rules from others who say poetry needs to follow a particular path. That poetry needs to be this way or that, or that I must confuse or challenge readers in their thinking to understand what it is I’m trying to say. For me, I want to be organic and open. Genuine.
Snow Girls, by Jen Gash
I want to string together the words that flow from my veins into the airy reality of my time here on Earth. After that, I turn words over on my tongue until they form whatever shape is calling them. If the melody I’ve created affects someone else in a light that comforts or gladdens them, then I have done well. That is poetry to me.
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good challenge. I’ve played with Haiku, Tanka, and Acrostic, Cinquain and micro. I’ve attempted Iambic and Octameter, and absolutely LOVE exploring Ekphrastic. But, for me, I bleed free verse. I flow… I bathe… I breathe in the beauty of word carving.
Study for Broadstairs 1, by Jen Gash
And so, each month, on the first Sunday, I like to share myself with readers. To remain as transparent as I can in my writing journey. These “steps in between” each milestone I climb are more valuable, I suppose, than my final destination.
And where am I headed? I’m not entirely sure. Like anyone, I want to be remembered in some way, once my soul leaves this place. I want to leave pieces of myself for other souls seeking their own path. I want to be inspiration.
Write your words, my fellow writer friends. Let them taste the Earth…
Study for Paradise, by Jen Gash
Poetry Alive
Minds wander,
releasing thoughts
from captivity.
From the depths of souls—
Words spill
spill
spill;
lyrics clinging
to tongues,
let them taste the Earth:
Savor the soil beneath birch,
lazy limbs of willow and palm.
Let them drift on the wind with
dandelion and cottonwood,
bathe in the ripples of thrown stones,
the currents of mighty river,
rushing against time,
shortened in each sunrise,
each sunset, blood-
red and ticking; heart’s
clock pulsing with the tides.
Time. Brings. Life.
Words eternal— let them fly
through summer blue skies,
gray longing, on dark
storms, thunderous
times in this one life,
Let words live;
I release you,
my poetry alive.
~ By Celaine Charles, June 2019
Image and Content Links:
Jen Gash, Artist and Occupational Therapist
https://www.saatchiart.com/account/profile/1102627 (Jen Gash, Artist and Occupational Therapist)
All art on this post is from Jen Gash. Moved by her use of light and flow mixed with raw intimate emotion, I found her work after I created the post. And it simply fit. I hope you enjoy her unique beauty and visit her site.
https://www.jengash.co.uk/gallery/ and https://www.jengash.co.uk/ (Jen Gash Websites)
My poetry page: https://stepsinbetween.com/poetry/, Celaine Charles
Categories: Thoughts on writing...
Tags: #celainecharleswriter, #jengash, #poetrycommunity, #poetrycorner, #poetrymonth, #stepsinbetween, #SundayPost, #writeeveryday, #writershelpingwriters, #writersjourney, #writersunite, #writingjourney, #writinglife, artists, authors, creators, encouragement, inspiration, poems, poetry, words, writers, writing
Steps In Between 
Let them touch the earth … or did you say taste… either way, yes yes. These poems, those paintings, that photograph of Jen. Magnificent. Makes my Sunday.
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Amen! Have a wonderful day😊
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Lovely post!
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Thank you!
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