Spring timing

A poem and message for your weekend...

Hello,

I’d say ‘hello, strangers’ but it doesn’t feel that way. I’d be referring to my lack of writing recently as opposed to our connection, I think.

I’ve held back on sending you something for a while. Mainly because I felt like I needed a decent explanation for my absence. Or to ‘launch’ a new way of being on here. I would have to be clear on what I’ll be writing to you going forward or find a particular time in the year that felt ‘right’ to pick things back up.

Oh, how we can become blocked by the restrictions we place on ourselves. Rather, how we can become swayed by advice on what ‘the right way to communicate,’ on any platform, should be. How we can find ourselves forced into boxes or categories and think we must have ‘clarity’ or ‘direction’ in order to do something as simple as saying hello. When most of us are so creative, too!!

As if writing from our hearts is not enough. As if, listening to the call of our soul, is not far more effective than anything else. As if the world requires any explanation or apology or ‘pretend’ certainty right now. When there isn’t any. There can’t be (perhaps not ever, I’m not sure). I think we open our arms and mouths (and pick up our pens) to write when and whatever and however we feel called to write. We create because we must and because we feel and because we can. And while we can, we do.

Friends, I could re-write and edit and mess around with this for so long I wouldn’t send it to you. I could wait until I have time to re-start ‘Poetry Book Club’ (still a thing that excites me), energy to write consistently every single week, a message about where this ‘Poetry Pals’ Substack is going and why.

But instead, perhaps, the thing is that I just want to write to you.

So I will write to you today with what I have. A poem. A poem only lightly edited, but that I know is ready to go out into the world this week - while we are warming up to the messages that nature brings with Spring (or whatever season you are currently sitting within).

And I’m going to trust that will be enough. I guess in the hope that you know that whatever it is you create and share this week, will be enough too. Even if that is nothing much :) Nothing much is still something.

I really want to chat about the poetry books we are all reading and loving. And the poems. I really want to share more poems. Oh and talk about the poetry book I am almost finished editing (I’ve found this one really hard to get over the finish line).

And I will. I will. In time. We have, only now.

---

Spring timing

Stood at the checkout queue,
I decide to buy a bunch of daffodils. 
I pick the ones with the tightest buds, 
the ones showing very little colour.
The ones, I think, will last me the longest.
I head back home with them in my bag

and between unpacking tins and bottles, 
drop them into a makeshift vase. 
I hang out some washing, 
reply to some emails, make my children
pasta with hot, stretchy cheese and  
it is only much later, 
when taking the dirty dishes over to the sink
that I notice:

Most of the bunch have already bloomed. 
A jug-full of yellow sits on my kitchen side,
open-mouthed trumpets of orange,
(that I never could have imagined).
Beauty arrived when I wasn't looking.
I put down the plates I was carrying to
let the odd petal rest on my finger.
I smell each flower in turn. 

I consider moving my stem-fulls of gold 
to a proper vase. 
Tilt my head, turn around. 
I am looking for the light. 
Eventually, I move my hand away.
Move more slowly now over to the
dishwasher to close-out my day. 
I guess they just knew how to bloom. 

I guess, so do I. 

---

I also did a little Daffodil poetry / love note spreading last week. I shared it over on Notes. It was fun:

More on my ‘Poetry Pals’ poem posting to come. It’s a little IRL project I’ve been working on :)

Thank you for being here.

I hope you will stay a little longer. I’d appreciate that.

P.s If you are a brand new reader then hello! Welcome. I’m Nelly. Lovely to meet you. You can find a whole year’s worth of poetry prompts and ‘poetry pen pal letters’ on this tab here xx

Nelly xx