Wide-Open Field

Posted bywordsandcoffee1Posted inCancer, Motherhood, Poetry, WritingTags:, , , , , , , , 
the hallway holds a spiraling blur of 
blinding light,
eternal and etherworldly.
I step through with hands shading eyes,
trying to glimpse the world ahead.
For the longest time, it remained
cordoned off,
a heavy blockage impenetrable,
the stone path held in place by gates
only partially of my own making:
the limit of struggle,
the toxins of trauma,
too many brick blocks boarding me up.
Now, the curtains rise, and I lift my hands
from near my face
to catch a glimpse at the future secluded there.
As the brilliant light fades,
I see my lasting space:
a place of calm and tranquility,
a gentle breeze stirring tree limbs,
a serene and endless blue
hovering above rich, melodic green,
the trickling of waterfalls tucked behind
an aura of permanent birdsong.
A wide-open field is framed only
by my own limitations,
expanding from beyond my hopes, 
its serenity echoing years into the future.

It’s the end of the school year, which means wrapping up of some experiences alongside fresh starts for the summer. It also means my schedule has been absolutely crazy. I’ve missed a few of the W3 prompts, though I keep meaning to get to them. However, I was grateful to make a little time to write some poetry this week.

I’ve carved out time every Tuesday evening to join an online writing group with people I met at an in-person writer’s retreat in April, so I’ve been spending at least 30-60 minutes of designated writing time during those little Zoom meetings.

Yesterday, I was also grateful to be able to lead a presentation about the healing properties of writing and journaling at a local women’s cancer retreat. It’s the same retreat that I was lucky to attend last year, and I knew that I wanted to be one of the speakers or presenters the next time around. I provided some prompts for the participants and background on my own cancer experience as well as the many ways that writing can be healing following trauma of any sort. The retreat has a very relaxing and rejuvenating atmosphere, so some of my prompts focused on that, but others focused on releasing negative feelings; everyone had the choice which prompt to pick. Another prompt with a visualization was also provided by the retreat’s leader.

I used the visualization prompt to help guide my own journaling during that time. I added some of my thoughts about moving past my cancer experiences and into a place where I can actually conceptualize the idea of life 5, 10, or more years from now. That timeframe once seemed impossible, and it now seems doable. This weekend, my husband and I even joked about our plans for our 20th and 30th wedding anniversaries, events that will happen 6 and 16 years in the future, respectively. I feel more grounded this year, even during the craziness of the end of the school year.

This weekend marks our official start of summer, and I’m looking forward to more writing and more adventures. 💕

6 thoughts on “Wide-Open Field”

    1. Thank you! I was only there for a couple hours, but it seemed like all the women were really feeling refreshed and reconnected after that time with new resources and others in the survivor community.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a comment