It took me a few days to get to the prompt. It should have been easy for me but scheduling with family business meant I couldn't go to my writer's self. Gae Polisner's advice, "not being able to 'get to' the writing, and learning to breathe through it and hold on to the muse in the interim, is a very important part of the writing process...consider it a good use of writing time, to be learning about that, too", gave me 'permission' to breathe, to not treat my summer of writing as an 'assignment', and to just enjoy the whole process. (Thank you, Gae. I needed that.)
I will say that putting myself out there is scary. Beyond scary. But, putting myself out there, I realize, is the only way to learn, grow, and improve. Here's my first attempt at being published...be gentle with me.
Sometimes...
in a moment, I flash back to a time when life was simpler, easier
there you are, standing in my childhood driveway, fish in one hand, coffee cup in the other, a broad smile on your face, satisfied
in the woods, the unheard sound of you gently lifting moss, searching, stalking, unsuspecting mushrooms
then, on any given Sunday, the aromas of an after church meal...only you could make it the way it was intended to be eaten
on the side of a buzz cut hillside, my hands in your coat pocket, as I keep warm in wet, Oregon fall, my fingers wrap around the hard candies that could always be found in their hideaway
the morning cup of joe has actually become the all day cup of joe, just like it was for you, the delicious bitterness bringing back memories of the corner counter and daily newspaper
now, I wonder, how will I remember every thought, every story of you so that my daughter will know you
Sometimes...
I just wish you were here to stay a while longer
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