1. Read the poem 

  2. Do your own reflection on it, noting what it inspires in you

  3. Feel free to use your own reflection as your prompt or…

  4. Use the selection of prompts below the poem

  5. Pick one that inspires you and write (feel free to use only one or write several poems using different prompts) or…

  6. Don’t use any of the provided prompts and follow your inspiration from wherever it comes

There Is A Place

Outside my window, 
spindly posts of sailing masts 
rise up from the hulls
sidled at the pier in rows. 
The scene mimics a stick forest 
reflected on the shimmering surface 
of the bay like a dream image 
of a world at peace with itself. 

How easy it is to exhale here, 
thousands of miles away 
from rolling tanks and cluster bombs, 
far from the desperate courage 
of those who stay to fight 
and those who flee clinging 
to a thin thread of hope 
between the prayer for wings 
and the far horizon, 
between the battle ground 
and the border crossing. 

I do not know the price of peace 
in a world perpetually spinning 
between light and dark or how to be 
the whirling dervish in the eye of the storm 
or whether the dancing feet 
of all birthday wishes could shake 
the world awake. 

But I do know there is a place 
where the heart has no boundaries; 
that there are angels that guide us 
when our wings are clipped 
and sit with us in hopeless moments. 
And I pray that all such angels may come, 
through you and me, to bring light 
to a world of suffering; 
so that we may never forget 
the flame of love in the human spirit 
even in the most atrocious of tragedies. 

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Next Read Around is March 4, 2022

My Thoughts

Breathing in the tragedy of Ukraine on the nightly news, I feel the world imploding. Amid inescapable sufffering, and in the face of overwhelming force, the Ukraninans have done more to unite the west than anything in recent years. Putin and the Russians are apparently willing to risk everything, even the potential of nuclear disaster by attacking nuclear plants, by posturing high alert for nuclear weaponry, and by pushing us all toward the brink of WWIII in pursuit of thier goals. 

Meanwhile, there are glimmers of hope rising from the rubble in the valiant effort of Ukrainian resistance, in the willingness of so many countries to unite in thier support of Ukraine and open their borders to the flood of refugees escaping the horrors of war. Our hope is summed up in President Zelensky’s own words placed on the cover of time magazine: "Zhittya permozhe smert - a svit temryavu: Life will win over death, and light will win over darkness.”   We have yet to see how far the darkness will go, how much death must be endured before the light prevails, and how much of Ukraine will be left when the fighting is over. It is truly inspiring that Zelensky and his people could anchor themselves in such a profound truth in the midst of such a horrifying tragedy.

I was mulling over the calamity in Ukraine while on a weekend retreat at the Berkeley Marina. I searched for poems about peace but did not find anything I thought served the occasion. I had just finished a writing workshop with Roger Housden who offered the stem sentence “Breathing in the tragedy of Ukraine, I…” as a prompt. He used Gerald Stern’s poem about the end of WWII, The Dancing, as inspiration. All of this was stirring within me as I walked the hills around the marina, among chattering strollers walking dogs and families flying kites together. I was struck by the contrast between the peaceful atmosphere of my surroundings and the tragic events on the news and I composed, “There Is A Place,” which I offer for this week’s poem and associated writing prompts.

Prompt Menu

  1. What scene, image, or symbol might represent a world at peace with itself? Use that image as your prompt.

  2. We often catch and hold our breath, especially in the face of tragedy, but also in everyday life when stressed or stunned or overwhelmed. Exhaling is a natural act of letting go and releasing. Use the stem sentence, “It is easy to exhale when…” and free write from there.

  3. Use some stunning image from the news about Ukraine as your prompt. Journal or write about how the events happening there impact you personally? What images or scenes make you angry? Which ones horrify you?, Which ones inspire you?

  4. Journal or write a poem with the title or main idea of “Desperate Courage.”

  5. Journal or write a poem using the stem sentence, “clinging to a thin thread of hope between…” whatever rock and hard place might come to mind and describe how it plays out in your composition.

  6. Write a list poem of things you do not know and contrast it with a list of things you do know.

  7. How might we find peace in a world perpetually spinning between light and dark? How do you find peace in the face of tragedy?

  8. Journal or write a poem about the heart that has no boundaries. Or consider your part in bringing light to a world of suffering. How can you remember the flame of love in the most atrocious circumstances?

  9. Journal or write about anything else that might inspire you from the poem or life.