I thought I’d start a creative diversion—some poetry. I do not consider myself a poet by any stretch of the imagination, but sometimes phrases come to me, such as this one yesterday while I was out walking the dogs. I thought I’d try to catch these thoughts before they slip away …
The kids have been on school holidays for the past two weeks and our eldest has been back home. It’s lovely having them all around the dinner table, the house once again filled with kids and teens and dogs and noise—and mess. We’ve had long, lazy days in our PJ’s, where we’ve barely rolled our slow bodies from the couch. We’ve done a few things—like ice skating at Winter Wonderland and watching movies. They’ve caught up on overdue appointments at the dentist and hairdresser, and I’ve washed their school jumpers, dry-cleaned the blazers, and buffed their shoes ready for another term.
I’ve barely done any writing and I’ve not been able to give it much thought, not with four other people in the house interrupting my peace. Out of the blue yesterday morning, an idea came to me about something that I’d been wanting to write for a long time, something that’s been simmering in my mind but that I didn’t know how to approach. I knew, kind of, what I wanted to say, but I had no idea where to start, or how to do it. Suddenly, the answer came and I now know what I want to write …
I learned, once again, the value of letting my mind rest and be idle, not that I think the mind ever truly rests—I think it’s constantly sifting and sorting and knows the answer well before we’re conscious of it. I wonder, sometimes, if there’s too much noise in my deliberate thinking mind, and it’s only when I let that part of my brain rest that I hear my subconscious speak …
If anyone would like to join me in this snapshot poetry venture, let me know and we can link to each other. We could share our snapshots and poems on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag, #snapshotpoetry. Even if you don’t want to commit to posting once a week, just let me know if you have something and I can share it here or link to your website. As you can see from the above, it’s not Banjo or Dorothea, just words that capture a moment in the way a photo does.