The alarm clock shock snapped me back into the reality of 2023. Which, in all honesty, feels just like where I left off in late December. It was only just over a week off work and it’s such a busy time there is no feeling of genuine rest or re-set that you expect from a normal holiday.
I have kind of forgotten what a normal holiday feels like. Living through a pandemic will do that. But what of 2022? I used my time off to
do poetry workshops - which brought me so much joy and connection with people
volunteer at Glastonbury - a glorious mood improver but, relaxing?…. not so much
take my poetry show on the road to London - an experience to remember forever, but also not your traditional feet up holiday
So as I reached the end of 2022 I needed my break. And after I had to shopped and wrapped and cooked Christmas I read books! The weather was frightful but not in the nice song sense, in the continuous grey rain sense. Staying in was a treat I needed and relished. Being cosy with a book was becoming more than my new hobby, a new way of life, an entirely new way of being. If all days were like that ( maybe with slightly better weather so I could grab a few more nice refreshing walks) I would be happy for etertnity. Or at least the small fragment of eternity that I get to be part of. (Note to self: Keep it light!).
So it was a shame to be getting into my groove before I had to, once more, switch the alarm back on and get my commute back on. As I left work I congratulated everyone for surviving the longest feeling day of the year and when I got home, I wrote a poem about it……
I love how little throw away comments or observations can create a spark to make a poem from. I get so much joy from playing with words and ideas around a spark of a theme. Sometimes I will ruminate for days or weeks over a piece of poetry, especially if I am going to perform it somewhere or submit it somewhere but the fun, almost flippant ones, really make me smile as I work them out.
I wrote two others this week too.. one on becoming obsessed with the afternoon moon that I had seen in the sky….
And the other was related to a resolution to catch the limited compliments I get, and how we all should enjoy them more…
And on that note I will sign off with a heartfelt compliment for you. You are wonderful for reading this and I appreciate it so much.