I took a break (guest post)

I'm taking a little summer beak through mid-July. During this time I'll be hosting some great guest bloggers and sharing some of my favorite posts from The Word Cellar archives.

Today's guest writer is Liz Lamoreux. In this post, Liz shares her deep love of poetry and shows how a few words can change your whole outlook if you let them in.

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Tonight, as my "to do" list fights with my "people I seem to be letting down lately" list for the top spot in my inbox and the television speaks only sadness, I took a break. From all of it. I took a break holding a Spire cider in one hand and Billy Collins or rather the poetry of Billy Collins in the other. I took a break sitting on my front step as day turned into dusk pulling on the hem of evening's skirt. I took a break from all of it. I took a break with a cider and Billy Collins. I took a break from grief as I skipped over poems that called to me with titles like "The Dead" and "The Afterlife."

I allowed laughter in.

I took a break from it all and spent time with laughter as I read "The Hunt" four times to paint the described landscape in my mind. I let this landscape where Noah Webster and his assistants hunt a new word become, for a moment, my landscape. I took a break with laughter. I took a break. From all of it. I took a break from fixing when I turned to "Going Out for Cigarettes" and nestled inside these words:

Let us say this is the place where the man who goes out 
for cigarettes finally comes to rest: on a riverbank
above the long, inquisitive wriggling of that line,
sitting content in the quiet picnic of consciousness

I took a break and let Billy Collins remind me.

I took a break sitting on the front step as dusk settled over the stretching northwest skyline. I took a break. From all of it. I took a break to breathe in nature and words. I began to breathe in every word and then found myself suddenly chewing. As I reread "Metamorphosis," I was suddenly chewing as though if eating "If Kafka could turn a man into an insect in one sentence perhaps he could turn me into something new" and "Not that I am miserable, but I could use a change" would cause the page to turn and I would find myself away. From all of it. From the fighting, stretching lists. I even contemplated consuming the ant that crawled across the words as though his ability to walk on the actual letters would make the words grow inside me and root.

I took a break. From all of it. I took a break and watched the ant crawl across page 70 then 71 and toward the back cover. I took a drink then gave the ant freedom with the understanding of safety from me and Kafka and Collins.

I took a break. From all of it. I took a break with cider and Collins and dusk turning into a summery breezy nightfall. I took a break to remind myself. I took a break to let poetry remind me of myself.

I took a break. From all of it. I took a break until I could no longer read the words in the dimming light.

I took a break to remember.
I took a break to remember me.

~~~
Poems mentioned are from Questions About Angels by Billy Collins. (This post originally appeared on Liz's blog Be Present, Be Here.)

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Liz Lamoreux is the author of the recently published book Inner Excavation: Explore Your Self Through Photography, Poetry, and Mixed Media. She believes that unearthing our stories and sharing them through creating, writing, and community are vital to connecting with the journey that is this life. These days you can often find her learning important life lessons from her one-year-old daughter, but many days she can also be found in her studio surrounded by strips of fabric, vintage buttons and lockets and beads, several idea and poetry journals, and a mug of tea. As a yoga teacher, artist, and writer, she sees creating as a meditative exercise for the spirit and is currently focusing on sharing tools for this inward journey with others. To learn more about Liz, visit her website.

p.s. I'm so excited to be teaching online with Liz this August! We'll be joined by Vivienne McMaster for Emerge, the premier Live it to the Full class. I invite you to join us as we share stories and tips on navigating life's transitions using creativity (including photography, writing, and mindfulness practices). The course is designed to give you bite-sized pieces of inspiration that you can fit into your busy schedule. And it's just $49! (Sweet!)

Comments

[Katie]

I adore Billy Collins. Think I'll pull out some of his poetry this week.