Contrast, But Don’t Compare

Many of the most recent NaPoWriMo prompts have left me cold, but I have been busy. At the very least I jot a haiku or senryu in my journal everyday. Today, I heard the cuckoo’s call. On Saturday, I saw the cuckoo flower blooming. So something in the world is going right!

The weekend was busy with two Zoom classes. The poetry class is always rewarding. And they keep me on my toes. And we laugh a lot, too. On Sunday, the Soul Journey group had its monthly meet up. I absolutely love this group. It is all women and they are brave, often funny, always insightful and offer their truth and vulnerability. When I listen to what they write I agree with the conclusion that Katherine Heiny came to when she proposed a new syllogism.

Storytelling is an act of love.

Katherine Heiny, Guardian Weekend, 17 April 2021

This weekend was also a friend’s birthday. Her birthday gift was a request for her very own poem. So…I may not have been doing NaPoWriMo prompts, but I have been hard at the poetry coal face! Also, in the works is a geoheritage themed poem for Poetry Day Ireland on 29th April, 2021. So…the pressure is on there, too!

On to the Weekly Poem…which may subliminally be prompted by what is going on around the globe. But who knows where poems actually spring from? Sometimes it is just a mystery.

Contrast

Contrast...
but hold the compare!
We need
the yin to the yang,
the both,
not just for balance.

Contrast...
illumination
via
light and shadow.
The sun.
The moon's no better
or worse
than the other one.

Wholeness
requires contrast,
instructs
that diversity
creates
a truly round world.

Just be,
embracing the both.
Contrast...
but hold the compare!

I hope everyone is staying well. My husband and I had our first Pfizer vaccination this past Friday. Come 24th May we shoul be experiencing a bit more freedom – at least the anxiety will be ratcheted down because we will have 94% protection from infection.

BUT, I will still be seeing people outdoors and will mask when in public places even if restrictions are relaxed. The variants are brutal. We have seen this in the after effects on young members of our extended family. So vigilance will still be part of our daily lives.

Featured image Photo by Greg Jeanneau on Unsplash