One of the most satisfying things about teaching for me is learning. I learn something new every day, and it still surprises me. On Teach this Poem by Poets.org, I learned about a poetic device: caesura, referring to a pause for a beat in the rhythm of a verse, often indicated by a line break or by punctuation. This literary device was used with effectiveness in a poem by Yesenia Montilla, a brief meditation on breath.
A brief meditation on breath
Copyright © 2020 by Yesenia Montilla. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on July 21, 2020 by the Academy of American Poets.
–they’re saying
this virus takes your breath away, not
like a mother’s love or like a good kiss
from your lover’s soft mouth but like the police
it can kill you fast or slow; dealer’s choice.
a pallbearer carrying your body without a casket.
they say it’s so contagious it could be quite
breathtaking. so persistent it might as well
be breathing down your neck—
A long held belief of mine is that our bodies will tell us when to pause. I’ve believed this since 1995 when a herniated disc in my spine caused severe pain and subsequent surgery. There was nothing to do but pause and heal. Whenever I moved, pain would send me back. Luckily, I’ve not had any serious trouble since then, but I have learned to listen and pause when my body tells me to. I haven’t quite conquered yet the annoyance and guilt that sets in. We always want answers, so when the answer is “wait”, we twiddle thumbs and pace and complain.
Walking to the parking lot from school, I stopped to notice how two azalea bushes were intertwined.
Following The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, I’ve been writing morning pages for a few months. They are scribbled scratches before my coffee, before my mind wakes up. I really wasn’t sure this exercise was working for me. I’ve been resistant and irritated about it. Like when my body hurts, morning pages were a kind of pain in my side. I did them out of obligation, a commitment to a weekly group. But yesterday morning, a poem came out. And today, I wrote about a picture book idea.
So, wait a minute…you’re telling me that writing morning pages every day since January 3rd is finally opening up your creativity? Could it really take that long? Perhaps it won’t for you, but it has for me. And I’m still unsure if I’ll keep up the practice after our last meeting this week. Yet, there is something to be said for taking a pause, taking your pulse before the day begins.
Like caesura Pause. Begin. Be.
Reflections on the Teche 
I love morning pages and have found them so transformative! I love when ideas pop out suddenly. Thank you for sharing.
I’m almost relieved to hear someone admit that morning pages feel like an irritant. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with them, and I haven’t done them since the twin truths of babies (now nearly young men!) and a full time job ate at the edges of my sleep, so I love hearing that something is coming of them. Even more, I am glad you discovered caesura and that you have given me a chance to pause this morning, to meet a new poem, to take in the azaleas with you. Something in this post speaks deeply to me. Perhaps it’s time for me to pause, too.
I love the idea of morning pages when your mind is fresh and open and most creative. I wrote most of my dissertation in the early morning hours – the only time I had – in a busy season of life. It is clearly working for you as your creative juices are clearly flowing!
Maybe I didn’t stick with Morning Pages long enough for a breakthrough.
I love the azaleas. They remind me of places and times in the past… they were the pride of my husband’s uncle who had so many of them in his Georgia yard.
Pausing feels contrary to getting somewhere. But it is something we need to be able to get where we want to be.
When I did morning pages, I found them almost magical. But I couldn’t keep them going after kids, who also wanted to be up as soon as I was. I can empathize with the irritation of doing them! I love the poem you shared.
I also experienced frustration with morning pages. I tend to write in the evening…maybe I need to just commit to evening pages. Will they have a similar effect?
Kim
❤
Such wise words “I have learned to listen and pause…”
i agree so much with morning pages… always. it seems like too long of a pause this year… the flowers… oh my, the advantages to southern living. Thanks for sharing. xo