My feelings are all over the place. Starting the day later because I can sleep longer wakes me rested, ready. A walk outside on a perfect spring morning energizes. But then the weight of all that is different, all that is not happening, not normal comes with cleaning out a classroom or picking up items at the store or watching the news.
Poetry helps me cope. In my email inbox, on my Instagram feed, or on the bedside table, I can find a poem that soothes, comforts, or inspires me.
On Twitter this month, a group of us teacher-poets are writing #Poemsof Presence. These poems capture a single moment in time. They honor the present without regard or worry over the future or past. I can find connection and hope in this task. If you are a poem dabbler, join us.
This poem by ADA LIMÓN has come across my path a few times. Today from Gratefulness.org. I love how the title Instructions on Not Giving Up tells me what she wants me to learn from nature. And the poem fills me with a beautiful image.
More than the fuchsia funnels breaking out
Ada Limon, read the rest of the poem here.
of the crabapple tree, more than the neighbor’s
almost obscene display of cherry limbs shoving
their cotton candy-colored blossoms to the slate
sky of Spring rains, it’s the greening of the trees
that really gets to me.
Milkweed seeds
Margaret Simon, #poemsofpresence
Release on silken wings
Like the butterflies they nourish.
A little lagniappe of beauty in this video of a monarch butterfly swarm.
Reflections on the Teche 
My feelings are all over the place, too, Margaret, to the point of not corralling my thoughts as well. I wanted to write more poetry and simply got tired. So, I rest and read. You’re right that poetry helps one cope, just as nature offers lessons and healing. Love the comparison of clover heads to soccer balls – so good. And something in the release of the milkweed seeds is inherently comforting. Freeing.
I’m going to not turn on the TV for a few days and read instead. I’ve had enough!
Thank you for this reminder, to read and to write poetry.
I recently read a book about haiku, which are an old tradition of poems of presence. “One breath poems.”
I really appreciate how you opened your piece, how the rest, the walk, feel like everything is good,then a small aberration in our expectations reminds us that everything is changed. Poignant.
Perhaps I will write a small poem today 🙂
Thanks for coming by. Small poems, haiku or not, can soothe the soul.
Oh yes, my feelings are also ALL over the place these days. I saw your poem about the soccer ball earlier on Twitter (I think) and forwarded it to my son, the spring varsity lacrosse coach, as he is dealing with students devastated by the loss of their senior, and for most, their last season.
I’ve followed you for a while and am always inspired by your poetry. I too attempt it from time to time as the brevity of words always encourages the strongest of feeling. Thank you
My news feeds have been awash with articles in recent weeks extolling the value of poetry in challenging times. Like you Margaret, I have found much comfort and inspiration in poetic pursuit in my lockdown lair. Poetry fulfils many roles, and delivering comfort and calm is certainly one of those roles. Documenting small moments with poems of presence is another outlet. It captures critical thoughts, observation, and events. This will contribute our Covid history. in this post you have touched upon some important aspects of poetry and its enormous capacity to protect us, deliver us to a safer place.