Thinking about the shackles we bind ourselves with, the damage their negativity does, and our deep rooted fear of daring to live without them.
Our Spiked Chains
Tag Archives: Decisions
Day 111: Rise
Happy Easter.
Day 116: Traction
It’s so hard to get traction again once you’ve lost it. Here’s to picking ourselves up, learning from our falls, and pushing forward.
Traction
Day 118: Time to Tend the Garden
Today’s poem brought to you by the task before me this afternoon…uploading the poems I have fallen out of the habit of sharing as soon as I finish them. Here we go…
Time to Tend the Garden
Day 108: If You Make A Wound A Weapon
The titular line of this piece came to me years ago in a convoluted notion about how we weaponize our injuries. A conversation with a dear friend had me returning to the line and considering the deeper ramifications of it.
If You Make A Wound A Weapon
Day 101: Let Go Let’s Go
Saw Pet Sematary with my bride, who toughed it out like a champ. Considering the subject matter of yesterday’s poem and having just watched this movie, today’s poem feels somewhat inevitable. Here’s to hope and life and love in the face of entropy.
Let Go
Let’s Go
Day 98: Which Calm?
My bride and I went to An Evening with Margaret Atwood the other night, which began with her reading some of her poetry. After listening, I took away permission to ask more blatant questions in my own poetry. I’ve made an effort to steer away from that sort of thing overtly, but Atwood reminded me of one critical rule of creative writing: if it works then it works. Sometimes you don’t know if it does or not until you’ve done it. So, which type of calm do you pursue in your life?
Which Calm?
Day 97: Chase the Shine
Wait, Day 97? What happened to 96?
I missed it.
No excuse, I had an opportunity to do it during my break at work and I passed on. After that, when I got home I crashed. Hard. Been trying to do so much lately. Not the point.
I am proud that it took me 96 days before is missed a poem. New goal: try to go the rest of the year without missing another one. If I am to miss another, try to beat my 96 day streak.
Today’s poem is inspired by missing yesterday’s. I couldn’t tell you why Neverland and Peter Pan popped into my head, exactly, though in this context it certainly makes sense. Those stories are really depressing and downright frightening at their heart. Missed and stolen opportunities.
A piece of me mourns the loss of yesterday’s poem. It will never be written, never grow up, or go on adventures. It won’t even get to die because it was never born. Simply missed. An adventure not taken, an opportunity not explored. On the other hand, I am taking to heart why this is so valuable to me. The pursuit of dreams, seeing beauty realized and brought to fruition. Here is a rededication to never stop chasing the shine.
Chase the Shine
Day 94: Should Have Foreseen
An unfortunate incident with my computer set me back by over a month and a half of work. It’s not just the accumulated backlog, but the new stuff I’m supposed to be pushing forward on as well. One of the poor projects fallen victim to circumstances is The Everyday Poet Podcast. Fortunately my cohost is amazing and hasn’t lit any of his enthusiasm for the project.
All that said, I’ve been thinking a lot about preventable mistakes. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but if I’d just done things a little bit differently, prepared just a bit better, adjusted my mindset…it’s never a good feeling when you find yourself mired in the state of “this could have been prevented if only…” which I found myself in today after driving in to work.
Should Have Foreseen
Day 88: Paradise Found
Had a special moment with my bride where we experienced a concrete visualization of our goals. Less beautiful was the place than the moment with my favorite person in the world.
Paradise Found
The Everyday Poet 