I've been journaling every single morning for the past 10 weeks. Every. single. morning. It's been a great process - although that's not actually what this post is about. I simply ran out of pages one morning in the journal I was currently writing in, and with a spark of delight, grabbed one of my oldest journals. Yep - I'm a journal hoarder. And this oldie-but-goodie is from 2006. It's about 1/3 of the way full. And then, I got lost in re-reading old journal entries from 2006. Hello, Jessica-14-years-ago. What a life you have lived! I was in my second year of college, getting ready to move out, experiencing make ups and break ups - a time of change, that's for sure. My 20something emotions were real, raw and unguarded, and apparently I channeled a lot of them into poetry. Poetry I think is pretty solid. So here goes - originally scribed April 11, 2006.
Love in Spring
Breathe soft, my sweet
as the whispers of spring spell by
and I'll embrace you so
deeply.
There is you and there is me...
coral pink kisses dusting delicately over
bathing beneath the dandelion sun
and skin so shimmeringly smooth
gliding slowly
deeply
and I'll embrace you so.
Oppositely below,
the tingles of the earth
tiny trickles of nicks tracing trails of hot red
cooled quietly by the essence of the earth,
streaking smudges along the satiny flesh
but there is you and there is me -
so pay no mind.
Cotton shadows slink by
muffling sunshine as I mutter to muffle
breathe soft, my sweet.
This silent spring moment arising
embellishing nature as nature does inspire
for there is you
and there is me
and I'll embrace you so
deeply.
"there is you and there is me -
so pay no mind."
I remember workshopping this poem in a creative writing class I took at the time. What happened to the workshopped version? Not sure. What grade did I get? No clue. But I still love this piece. I love the slight alliteration, the metaphors and my use of color.
And, I love that 20 year old me wrote poetry and wasn't afraid to share it. I've forgotten that part of myself over the years. So I'm embracing it again now and bringing that lesson forward. Because if I don't at least take the time to learn from my past experiences, to take with me what I loved and cast away what I didn't, my evolution as a person and an artist will stall. My creativity will whither. Hey Jess - I see you. Welcome back.
