9/02/2014

Speaking




what there aren't words for yet

What those hummingbirds in your chest whisper when you tell
your first lie. The toothy rumble of the lions that scare
your lungs into giving up. The edges of a leap - half-murmur, half-yell -
that steer your feet away. The guffaw from the shadows tempting you to ignore
your own magnificence. The boisterous roosters pecking holes in your plans. The tire
tracks cajoling you to stay on course. How we search for a plain sentence
to fill the cracks of heartache, for language to pull us, like a ladder,
out of each dark and muddled well. We think thunder is a metaphor. Or the fence
dividing one yard from the next, its own instruction. But the story's yours, you know.
There is no better way to say it. Make the words up as you go.

~ Maya Stein


: : :


stitch, shibori, indigo, photography
Some means of expression
but only a small portion of the longer story unfolding.

Is there any better way
than to make it up as we go along?
I mean, really ... is there.




6 comments:

  1. "Is there any better way
    than to make it up as we go along?
    I mean, really ... is there."

    there have been times when a well laid plan ended with exceptionally satisfying results.
    there have been other times when a more fluid approach yielded unexpected results and were far less satisfying.
    and plenty of in-betweens.
    I will say that that the alternative ... fighting life at every step is no way to live.
    and I'll ponder more as I sit here on the fence. xo

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  2. today I realized that if I believe in anything it is in the power of blue... and of love... and here at the Sweet Pea path there is both
    namaste

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    Replies
    1. Such kindness in your words. Thank you for that, Mo.

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  3. I love the idea of making it up as we go -- is there any better way to live? Adaptability and acceptance, two of my favorite words. This writing is lovely - one to read over and over again.

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    Replies
    1. Feel the same way about Maya's writing, Penny. Very few contemporary poets strike that chord
      for me. And thinking further on making it up as we go along, am wondering if perhaps it
      has a lot to do with "fortune favors the prepared mind" ... you know, we move towards opportunity
      because we are already open to it.

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