Day 19 - Surprise

Pen Play: A poem-a-day writer's retreat in June

Hey loves! Welcome to Day 19. Only 3 more days left <3 How are you feeling as we slowly wind down?

Before I dive into today’s post and poem, I want to take a minute to celebrate that today is Juneteenth here in the US, during which, in the official website’s words, “we acknowledge the African American spirit and pay tribute to their roles and contributions which have enriched our society.”

I don’t wish to speak where I don’t have the insight, but I did want to shout out a couple organizations doing powerful work for the Black trans and female communities.

• The Marsha P. Johnson Institute works to create a world “where Black trans people’s humanity is fully realized,” including within themselves, in the name of Marsha P. Johnson — one of the LGBTQIA+ rights movement’s most important pioneers.

• The Loveland Foundation is the continuation of a fundraiser by Rachel Cargle to provide “opportunity and healing to communities of color, and especially to Black women and girls,” with the intention to impact future generations to come.

Both organizations accept donations, if that feels resonant, and/or provide plenty of materials for both learning more about these challenges yourself and sharing resources with those who may need around you.

Since we’re here as creators, I want to leave you with this stunning piece read by Amanda Gorman during the 2021 presidential inauguration.

It wasn’t planned, but I think the spirit of this prompt is well suited for this important day :) Let’s get to it!

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Photo by Ryan Smith Photography

One element of Surprise, I believe, is courage. Courage to be attentive to what comes, courage to receive and not judge it, courage to stand in unknown spaces (though here, it’s not that we don’t stand in the unknown if we’re not “choosing” to, just that there’s more harmony). Courage to let Surprise be a joy, a gift. 

I was thinking about something I mentioned to

A. Wilder Westgate

the other day, about how challenging I find it to write short poems with only a few words or a few lines. In the midst of this topic, I thought about Surprise, about having faith in the potency of a single word and my craft to welcome something new - in this case, the virtues and treasures of a smol poem. 

It made me contemplate that I truly may not know what will happen, or how my little poem may take shape. It will inevitably be a Surprise, a little present to be discovered. 

I appreciate the surprises in our world, that keep us creative, that freshen our routines or habits from time to time, that reshape whole courses of life trajectories in the next big direction. 

A surprise is like snail mail from Spirit, a playful squirt of water that leaps from the spring when you’re peering in, the movement to both ground and blossom, all at once. We all know that our surprises come in different scales, but we can be sure that each one is no less divine. 

What’s one thing you’ve been surprised by over the course of this retreat? If at all, how will you use it from here? 

Many blessings, dear ones <3 

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Surprise

I didn’t quite have the courage to write (or share) just one surprise poem, so you’ll find below a few that represent taking a deep breath and keeping the flow clear for a very single thought to come.

#1
Eagle eye
Tiger in the sky no lie
Backwards bending
Forwards a skateboard trick
Dropped in the hush of the 
Next second you’re mine 
And on fire the architect and 
A liar all a little game 
So you can pull up to the
Meadow and say
Surprise 

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#2
Be quiet
Because you don’t know
You think you do
But there’s the 
Surprise 

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#3
There’s no quick insight,
No flash of glory,
It’s just 
Surprise 
And then out

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#4
If you’ve said it all that you want to say,
Let the next come
And surprise you

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If you’ve enjoyed the experience, share the retreat with friends who may also want to play with their poetry and read beautiful works from our community.

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