Slice of Life/SmallPoems Day 31 (not one but many)

(I am participating in the March Slice of Life challenge via the Two Writing Teachers site.  Slice of Life is the idea of noticing the small moments. I have been a participant for many years and each year, I wonder if I will have the energy to write every day. This year, I am going to try to coincide it with my daily poetry writing, and intend to compose small poems on small moments. We’ll see how it goes …)

Day Thirty One

Not one wasted
word, but many
Not one wasted
rhyme, but many
Not one jaded
thought, but many
Not one poem
worth such love
but many
Not just one small
story unfolding
inside this insanity
but many
Not merely one of us
unaffected, unmoved,
unmoored, unafraid,
unbound, misunderstood,
but maybe all

Note: I was intending to write a poem, reflecting on the poems I’ve written this  month for Slice of Life, which started off in one relatively normal place on March 1 and veered unpredictably and out of control into a whole new reality. Which is where I find myself now, on March 31, writing a poem that didn’t want to play by my intentions. The lines just kept building, like a building about to collapse on itself, and I just went with the flow. For maybe it did what I intended, brought some closure to a month of writing poems of observation, that we are affected by the pandemic in the world. Not just one. But maybe all. Maybe all of us.

Peace (sending it your way),
Kevin

12 Comments
  1. Not one, but many… Such a powerful phrase, I’m not surprised that this poem built like an avalanche, gathering momentum beyond the control of your initial intentions. Well done riding it out, and thanks for sharing. Best to you and yours in the days to come, Kevin.

  2. Kevin, the best poems, I think, are those “that didn’t want to play by my intentions.” They sort of write themselves, don’t you think. Yes, I think we’re all in this moment together, and certainly there are glimpses of fear from time to time and uncertainty most of the time. Stay well. Keep those poems coming.

  3. This poem is powerful. I like how the format of the repetition allowed you to move from personal writing to the emotions of us all during this time. I’m glad to have read your poem.

  4. I had some time this morning and read your entire month’s poetry. I noticed how your “river of words” changed direction as world events changed. I was moved and just wanted to say thank you. I hope you and your family are well.

    • Thank you for taking that time to wander through the poems, and yes, there was a sudden and abrupt shift in tone, influenced by the world events, and yet, I still tried my best to notice the small things and represent them in verse, as best as I could, in the moments before they passed by.

  5. Kevin, I appreciate the candor you let loose here. Maybe that’s the key part of this exercise, to make space for the perhaps unintended message that insists on its relevance; that will not surrender lightly to our polite assumptions. Thank you for being here from beginning to end.

    • Such great insights, Sherri (as usual), and that “insists on relevance” is what a writer needs to listen for, I think, even if it’s not clear in the moment what that might be or look like or evolve into …

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