Feb 12, 2023·edited Feb 12, 2023Liked by Devin Kelly
A few months back, I took a class that aimed to illuminate the differences between micro fiction and poetry. I reached the end of the class without the black-and-white clarity I'd hoped for, and was glad for it. I appreciate your words and Anni Liu's today. Sunday mornings are my favorite mornings. Instead of leaping straight into my own writing, I start my Sunday mornings with hot chocolate with coffee in it (to be accurate about ratios) and your newest post, reading in the dim light of a small lamp before the Colorado winter sun rises, while two old dogs snore nearby. This: "...imagining the feelings of others, imagining so much of others without spanning the gap between my imagination and their reality..." was such a wonderful and startlingly true observation, and is something I will take into my day, along with so much else from today's post. The last four lines, in particular. After a week spent helping my elderly father through some painful and difficult doctor appointments, then finding that practicing tonglen meditation with him--a meditation practice that helps us turn our personal suffering into a path to compassion for all beings--helped him faster than a nerve-soothing prescription could be prepared for him at the pharmacy... well, injury, compassion, and the connection of all beings through care have been on my mind greatly these last few days. If the air is filled with all of our bruises, then it must also be filled with all of our compassion--and all of our poetry. For that, I am grateful. Thank you, Devin.
Thank you so much for sharing Anni Liu's poem and your meditations on the nature of injury limitation, and compassion. There were several quotable sections I copy pasted for my personal use as writing prompts, and illuminating wisdom from other writers. When I read you, I sense a sensitive kindred spirit, and that has your writing be all the more meaningful and integrative.
A few months back, I took a class that aimed to illuminate the differences between micro fiction and poetry. I reached the end of the class without the black-and-white clarity I'd hoped for, and was glad for it. I appreciate your words and Anni Liu's today. Sunday mornings are my favorite mornings. Instead of leaping straight into my own writing, I start my Sunday mornings with hot chocolate with coffee in it (to be accurate about ratios) and your newest post, reading in the dim light of a small lamp before the Colorado winter sun rises, while two old dogs snore nearby. This: "...imagining the feelings of others, imagining so much of others without spanning the gap between my imagination and their reality..." was such a wonderful and startlingly true observation, and is something I will take into my day, along with so much else from today's post. The last four lines, in particular. After a week spent helping my elderly father through some painful and difficult doctor appointments, then finding that practicing tonglen meditation with him--a meditation practice that helps us turn our personal suffering into a path to compassion for all beings--helped him faster than a nerve-soothing prescription could be prepared for him at the pharmacy... well, injury, compassion, and the connection of all beings through care have been on my mind greatly these last few days. If the air is filled with all of our bruises, then it must also be filled with all of our compassion--and all of our poetry. For that, I am grateful. Thank you, Devin.
Thank you so much for sharing Anni Liu's poem and your meditations on the nature of injury limitation, and compassion. There were several quotable sections I copy pasted for my personal use as writing prompts, and illuminating wisdom from other writers. When I read you, I sense a sensitive kindred spirit, and that has your writing be all the more meaningful and integrative.
My body is captivated by your insights. Thank you!