Four Year Anniversary

 

Well folks. 

Today is my four-year anniversary. 

 

Four years ago today,

Heidi The Librarian walked into my classroom 

And asked if I wanted to do a blackout poem with her. 

 

She said, “You can do one and I can do one and then we can compare.”

After explaining what a blackout poem was,

Heidi and I then wrote.

 

At the time, we only knew of the traditional blackout poetry form, 

Where you go linearly on the page. 

About halfway through that first year, though,

We bought a blackout poetry journal from the Amazon that taught us how to do the bubble style. 

The bubble style allows you to use any word on the page in any order, 

As long as you connect them with a line. 

 

The bubble style transformed our writing, 

Opening the page to many more poems and allowing us to find transition words that often were not there before.

 

Heidi and I have written through 

Joy and sorrow,

Celebration and grief,

Good days and bad days,

Hellos and goodbyes,

Life and death, 

Energy and weariness, 

Pride and shame, 

Political stability and political upheaval.  

 

Whatever has been on our minds and hearts for the past four years

Has come out,

Sometimes cryptically,

On the page.

And each day,

We have shared our poems with one another,

Save for one day when I was extremely sick  and away from home 

And another day when I was in the hospital.

 

This is the only time in my life that I’ve done something like this

And kept it up. 

I’ve tried memorizing scripture and 

Doing daily devotions and

Playing online games and 

Being part of a book club 

With friends. 

But none of it stuck longer than a few weeks or months. 

For some reason, 

This has stuck. 

And today I am so thankful for this journey 

That has artistically chronicled life 

And produced over 2000 poems. 

 

What is a practice that has stuck with you? 

Maybe permanently, 

Maybe for a season? 

What have you learned and experienced through said practice? 

 

What is something life giving that you do with a friend, 

Maybe daily, 

Maybe sporadically?

What is it that gives you life?

 

And…

Go!