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THE FLIGHT OF GOODBYE
The clatter of the dog’s toenails on the kitchen floor, as she wanders into the kitchen to check on the progress of the toast, has gone unheard for months. The silence is deafening.
I’m letting go of fear and I’m grabbing a hold of faith.
I am getting rid of clothes I no longer wear, canned foods beyond their use-by dates, coffee mugs I never use, and unrealistic expectations and goals,
fatigue, disappointment, and dust on books,
disorganized clutter, because I’m ready to dance and I need space to flail,
saying goodbye to old assumptions as to “who I should be” in order to embark on new adventures and new ways to become my best self.
Goodbye to resistance, because I’m ready to fly.
I’m saying goodbye to places I used to know, because I’m ready to celebrate in other places without snow;
anger, because all it does is create fire in the face of kindness, no matter how clumsy or nervous the form it takes;
fear, because healing becomes trapped in its snare, and to heal is to be free and defined the broken bits of me;
the need to please other people, because I’m ready to be pleased myself.
The heavy weight of fear and regret must go so this midlifer mama bird can fly.
Farewell sins of others, I will not feel your shame any longer, as now is my time to heal.
Goodbye toxic people, because I’m ready to feel less lonely,
letting go of the negativity that weighs me down – people, things and thoughts,
shedding fears, anxieties, “what ifs”, because it’s time once again (at long last!) to fly–someone has left the gate open!
I’m leaving behind the old version of myself that was defined by other’s expectations, as I carefully craft the me I want to be,
shedding high-heeled shoes and skates and skis, to keep intact my septuagenarian knees,
goodbye timelines, because all I’m good at is breaking their continuum by interfering. I just need to let things be and untie the plans that just want to fly away.
Goodbye bland acquiescence and getting by, you are the the round belly of my personality – making deep breaths really uncomfortable. Hello to creating space for myself and others, as we are and as we are not.
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THE POETS
Brigid
Paula K. Parker
Coriander in the Spice Rack
Jenean M. Roth
Lori Duff
Marcia Gunnett Woodard
Tracy Gerhardt-Cooper
Sara Zavacki-Moore
Justin Rielly
Jen Tissot
Lynne
Lisa A. Johnson Speaks Life
WAK
Margaret
Fred
s
Anne Murphy
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THE POEM
To close out 2022, participants were asked to “write a sentence discarding what you don’t need to make room for what you do.” Their contribution could take any form they wanted. Responses were edited very slightly, occasionally removing punctuation and opening phrases like “I”m saying goodbye to” or “I’m letting go of”, allowing their words to flow in a powerful collaboration.
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OUR POETS HAIL FROM
Dallas, TX
Rochester, NY
At my desk at work
Istanbul
New Jersey
In the neighborhood
New York
Webster, NY
Western NY
Tullahoma, TN
Florida
Loganville, GA
The Only Swayzee in the World!
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This Exquisite Collaboration Project is based on the Exquisite Corpse, a technique created by Surrealists in the early 1900s, in which participants add to a work with no one seeing what the other participants contributed. My goal is to encourage non-writers and artists to embrace their creative selves in a safe, supportive, “you can’t fail” environment. What began as a way to maintain some sort of connection with other people during the early days of the Covid lockdown has continued to unite strangers from around the world in creative collaboration.
Click here to read the series of Exquisite Poems and to find the links to the current prompt so you can join in the fun.
To learn more about my workshops, visit my website.
Notes From The Funny Farm 