I am, I go

TLDR: I have posted my first poem, jump down to read it.

For the last half dozen years or so, I have been reading a lot more poetry. I have also been trying to write poetry and the two are not as related as it may seem. At least not for me. Lately, I have found myself not so much at a loss for words to express my feelings and my thoughts, rather at a loss for grammar, linearity, and argument. All of which, it should be noted, poetry has in heaps. I have been blessed in the last year with the friendship of the poet John Poch. He has freely offered his advice and suggestions about how to learn to enjoy and write poetry. I highly recommend his most recent book, God’s Poems: The Beauty of Poetry and the Christian Imagination. There is a particular poem that he has been critiquing, but I will share that another day.

Today, as part of our efforts to provide opportunities for faculty and staff in our college to find balance and moments of peace in the day, one of our faculty members led us through a poetry writing exercise. Some of you may be familiar with it, it is based upon George Ella Lyon’s poem, “Where I’m From.” I encourage you to read her poem yourself and take a look at the project, where they are gathering “a river of voices.” (Coincidentally, she was a Kentucky Poet Laureate and last night I hosted our current KY Poet Laureate and friend, Silas House as he inspired our students.) I didn’t quite follow the instructions to the letter, but the following is where the exercise took me and I am comfortable enough with it to share it with you. Not quite Updike’s Seven Stanzas at Easter (why is that not on the Poetry Foundation’s website?), but it has a Holy Week vibe to it. So, my first “published” poem, “I am, I go.”