Thankful Thursday: Hi there, stars
Writing poems can help kids [and adults] shift the way they see themselves, especially if they're feeling sad, walled-off or different from others. In poems, being different is an asset; we don't have to think of ourselves negatively. Our idiosyncrasies are like prizes. It's freeing to express our one-of-a-kind-soul.
— Susan Wooldridge
Poemcrazy, Chapter 26
On this Thankful Thursday, I am grateful for the fog lifting, the rust flaking, and the rediscovery of Poemcrazy: Freeing your life with words.
Do you know this book? I hope your copy is as tattered and loved as mine. Equal parts encouragement and exercise, this gem had gathered dust on my shelf until the other day when a friend and I met to talk and write.
We were both feeling laden with life. We joked that we knew a hundred words for grey. We joked that we were rusty with our writing. After a time, we laughed our way out of our dread and onto the page. We flipped through Poemcrazy and, like a tarot card, landed on Chapter 26: Hi there stars.
And with that we were lifted. We could write again.
Thank you poemcrazy. Thank you friend. Thank you rust. I love the way you flake away.
It's Thankful Thursday. Joy expands and contracts in direct relation to our sense of gratitude. What are you thankful for today? A person, a place, a thing? A story, a song, a poem? What makes your world expand?
Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 3:09PM
Reader Comments (5)
Although I'm embarrassed to admit it, I'm very thankful today for the iPad app that does math flash cards for kids. Hello, one more half-hour for writing :).
Now I have to get this poemcrazy book you wrote about...
Thanks for Thankful Thursday!
Molly,
No need to feel embarrassed. I would be thankful for the iPad, too. :)
Lovely post, and I love that book! Mine is quite worn and now neglected. Perhaps I need to pick it up again soon.
Sandy -
I'm so glad you love this book, too. Poemcrazy feels like an old friend; we don't talk often but when we do we pick up right where we last left. ;)
I will have to keep an eye out for that book.