Hi! Howdy! Happy Monday! I hope you all had nice weekends. I went to the Cloisters (my favorite place in NYC!) and danced around in a pretty dress, and I wrote a poem in a patch of sunshine. Usually, during NaPoWriMo, I type up my poems as soon as they’re done. But yesterday I wasn’t in such a rush, since it was such a nice, warm, relaxed day, and I gave myself room to feel inspired. In other words, sorry to my friend Molly, I owe you a rough draft! I just didn’t feel fussed to be on my computer any more than necessary.
Been thinking a lot about this Mary Oliver poem and how it reflects my general attitude about creativity, friendship, love, family, art, writing, time, etc. I’ve noticed that, when I read it more frequently, I feel more compelled to live a life that exists in the framework of the poem:
“There is nothing more pathetic than caution!” That’s true! I have very few regrets in life but they’re pretty much all about half-assing/chickening out. In college, my aforementioned friend Molly and I performed music together a couple of times - her guitar-ing, me singing, covers of Lorde and Regina Spektor. I only have video of the latter performance, and I only recently watched it for the first time since it was filmed, in 2016 or so. I thought, for sure, I’d be embarrassed and find it “cringey.” But the only thing I thought while watching it was, “This is sweet, I should’ve let loose and worried less about looking like a try-hard.” I wish I could find the video of that Lorde cover, too.
Anyway, I owe Molly a typed draft, and I still owe myself a poem today. It’s the second half of NaPoWriMo so I’m gonna try to be weirder, louder, more audacious, and less pathetic cautious in these next few days. If you’ve been holding back from writing, now’s your chance! And if you’ve hemmed and hawed on trying NaPoWriMo this year, it’s not too late to start. You can get two full weeks of writing under your belt if you start now!
You’ll see some rough drafts on Wednesday if you’re a paid subscriber. On Friday night, I wrote my favorite poem of the year (so far!) and I’m eager for you to see it.