Thank you for these prompts, Kaitlin! It's been such a fun week and a half of writing poems and appreciating what others come up with. For anyone else who has been enjoying this experience of writing with a community as much as I have, I want to let you know that I'm launching a Substack at 100poems.substack.com. My personal intention for the year is to write 100+ poems, and rather than doing that alone, I've decided to share and invite others to join me. If you subscribe (it's free), you'll receive a poem from me twice per week, but the real magic will (I hope) take place in the comments section, where all subscribers are invited to share their own poems and offer encouragement to one another. Since this is a brand new idea for me, there may be some shifts as the year goes on, but my plan for now is to offer a prompt one day per week and leave the other day open. I hope to see your lovely virtual faces there!
Kaitlin, thank you sincerely for the creation of this space. What a beautiful 10 days. The Liminality Journal and the gracious wisdom of your words and the compassion of the space you hold and create is beyond measure.
Thank you all who have participated in this tender 10 day journey. An integration has begun.
Deepest gratgitide to all fo those who have offered a poem or more, who have shared reflections, wonderings and wisdom,and have written such affirming, kind and encouraging notes to erach other. Some of you all I have encountered before in this virtual realm, and I am ecstatic to find you again. Some of you all are new to me, and what gifts you are. The world holds countless wisdomkeepers and dreamers throughout the ages, and knowing you all are out there in tbhis one inspires me with even greater hope.
You all have even inspired me to finally do something with that Substack I created in May during the month of poetry. For me, it sometimes takes a season, or in this case three, to get there.
I have been away the last few days so was not able to share my poems but did write them - thank you again Kaitlin for this space and the inspiration to create.
Thanks again Kaitlin for this amazing space to write, share and read poetry. Appreciated all your guidance. Blessings to you as you enter the New Year!
AN INSPIRATION OF INTEGRATION
Drawing abreast all the various parts of me,
joining with the numerous elements of existence.
A jigsaw puzzle of life, individual pieces adding to the landscape.
Each facet, an essential part of the gem.
Every ingredient necessary for the meal.
Hand in hand we link alongside one another.
Interlocking rows of threads weaving the web of life,
one by one we are the building blocks.
All of us the coherence of the heart, a symphony of instruments.
None of this is about conformity, nor based on domestication.
But an amazing collaboration of diversity.
Souls attuning together, interdependence within relationship.
Thank you for these prompts, Kaitlin! It's been such a fun week and a half of writing poems and appreciating what others come up with. For anyone else who has been enjoying this experience of writing with a community as much as I have, I want to let you know that I'm launching a Substack at 100poems.substack.com. My personal intention for the year is to write 100+ poems, and rather than doing that alone, I've decided to share and invite others to join me. If you subscribe (it's free), you'll receive a poem from me twice per week, but the real magic will (I hope) take place in the comments section, where all subscribers are invited to share their own poems and offer encouragement to one another. Since this is a brand new idea for me, there may be some shifts as the year goes on, but my plan for now is to offer a prompt one day per week and leave the other day open. I hope to see your lovely virtual faces there!
I have not commented a lot but have kept up with the prompts and enjoyed my 2nd of your poetry series!
Sometimes I ask myself,
Which came first,
Me or the therapist?
Was I drawn to this work,
Because of my personality?
Or did it shape me?
Maybe there is not separation,
But instead an integration,
Making my self whole
The starlings integrate
then disintegrate.
They spread like a wing across the sky
then break apart
in a thousand flutterings.
They peck at the ground,
draw up what they need,
then lift again,
pulsing like a single heart.
Kaitlin, thank you sincerely for the creation of this space. What a beautiful 10 days. The Liminality Journal and the gracious wisdom of your words and the compassion of the space you hold and create is beyond measure.
Thank you all who have participated in this tender 10 day journey. An integration has begun.
Deepest gratgitide to all fo those who have offered a poem or more, who have shared reflections, wonderings and wisdom,and have written such affirming, kind and encouraging notes to erach other. Some of you all I have encountered before in this virtual realm, and I am ecstatic to find you again. Some of you all are new to me, and what gifts you are. The world holds countless wisdomkeepers and dreamers throughout the ages, and knowing you all are out there in tbhis one inspires me with even greater hope.
You all have even inspired me to finally do something with that Substack I created in May during the month of poetry. For me, it sometimes takes a season, or in this case three, to get there.
Blessings to you all! Happy New Year!
Winter was never my favorite season
I lived for the summer: the freedom, the feeling of
Sun and sand, sweet tomatoes, cool lemonade, gentle mornings of just enough warmth
Before the day's heat
Relishing the pleasure of her brevity and bittersweet end in August
But
Being in the first snow of December, or January
Holding out my tongue to taste the dusty flakes
Winter has won me over
I can love both
Becoming whole, denying the binary of
If I love being warm, I hate the cold or
If I love summer, I must not love winter
Ice in the reservoir speaks to me in a language I am just learning
To appreciate and integrate into
A life of many seasons
Creating a synthesis from disparate components
An alchemy of existence woven into the tapestry of life
Disparate threads entwining
Like the twilight sky, a convergence of contrasts
Fragments once scattered find solace in harmony
Shadows and light dance,
Each chord of discord finds its cadence
Integration of all parts to create more than their sum alone
I have been away the last few days so was not able to share my poems but did write them - thank you again Kaitlin for this space and the inspiration to create.
Integration
Integration sounds easy
smooth, efficient, quickly accomplished.
Yet integration
means finding a way
to fit the pieces together
acknowledging our differences
our diversity
our fears
as we work for inclusion
with compassion
and care
Integration is not as simple as
2+1=3
you + me = we
It is weaving together, over time and with love
Acknowledging that I alone may not be enough
I keep finding pieces of
myself, shifting things
around and tucking
them gently into place,
parts into a whole;
parts I didn't know
I was missing at all,
until I found them.
But the parts haven't
made me whole,
just helped me grow.
I've finally realized
that I have been
whole all along.
Like wordsmithing with a chainsaw,
a scribbler among scribes,
a yard sale flyer amidst a stack of heart melting love letters,
I integrate myself into a fine gaggle of most excellent..
Gracious..
Patient..
Encouraging..
and most powerful & energetic word crafters.
I thank you each one.
and kaitlin for her excellent sandbox.
amen.
I always start out with the intention to go short--alas, I tend to wander.
Integration
Integration! Seeing the word I rushed right to…
Google! And was graced with
definitions by trade, professions, association and fields;
Four types of integrations in a geometric plane;
Lots of synonyms and anagrams,
even the way math wonders use the term,
Trigger warning included.
I feel enlightened, but no more able
to craft a wise, witty or wonderful poem.
This young boy turned teenager heard it many times,
in my southern state that fought so long and hard,
against a word and process intended to bring equity, justice and harmony.
As the walls tumbled down, or were torn down by the inevitable
flow towards justice,
I came to understand that integration is not simply an action.
It is a process.
An alchemy of law, intention, spirit, soul, heart and mind.
Where word and action dance and debate,
and countless tender hearts can be harmed
along the way.
When it is done with compassion and kindness
it heals like Earth’s greatest wonders.
Now, at the other end of life’s luscious meadow,
I am still grappling with integration.
How to welcome in the shadows with the light,
The annoying or dysfunctional with the endearing,
the hoped for self with the reality.
It is a process, this integration.
With love and grace, it will be done.
Thanks again Kaitlin for this amazing space to write, share and read poetry. Appreciated all your guidance. Blessings to you as you enter the New Year!
AN INSPIRATION OF INTEGRATION
Drawing abreast all the various parts of me,
joining with the numerous elements of existence.
A jigsaw puzzle of life, individual pieces adding to the landscape.
Each facet, an essential part of the gem.
Every ingredient necessary for the meal.
Hand in hand we link alongside one another.
Interlocking rows of threads weaving the web of life,
one by one we are the building blocks.
All of us the coherence of the heart, a symphony of instruments.
None of this is about conformity, nor based on domestication.
But an amazing collaboration of diversity.
Souls attuning together, interdependence within relationship.
We are more than the sum of the parts.
I keep my memories carefully separated.
Segregated if you will.
One from another.
I don’t want the good times intermingling with the bad.
Those were sad years, let’s keep them away from those wonderful days.
And oh those months of mediocrity?
Well they are just best left in that pile over there.
But as much as I try to keep my memories in their respective caches.
I realize they cross over and intermingle.
One with the other.
The integration of all of my experiences essential to who I have become.
-Karri Temple Brackett
12/30/23
Beautiful!