I learned recently that in order to fly, birds depend on resistance. It makes sense, and perhaps it’s obvious that they’d need something sturdy to push off from and lift themselves into the air. But as these things go, it took poetry for this fact to resonate with and inspire me.
In Jeanine Hathaway’s poem “Why Obedience Is The Only Vow,” she writes, “Dynamics of flight insist / upon resistance.” Here, resistance is mighty and positive. It’s a thing to celebrate and be grateful for. It is not a shield to protect, but rather something hearty to use to send yourself into the world.
This poem is an “ex-nun” poem of Hathway’s. The ex-nun is a character she uses in some of her poems in the chapbook The Ex-Nun Poems, and these are the ones I pay the closest attention to. I know Hathaway was a nun for a time, and so I read these poems as if I’m doing detective work, wondering what she is trying to say about what she understands about this vocation and herself. Since reading her ex-nun poetry, I’ve been contemplating writing stories with an ex-teacher as a main character. I think it would help me distance myself from the profession, as well as see what of teaching remains in me and that might be used.
Maybe creating an ex-teacher character would be the piece of resistance that would allow me to take flight.
Try It
Write a poem about what it is you can resist in order to take flight.
Featured Poem
Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here’s one from Megan Willome we enjoyed:
“the heart dwells in unattended dark”–John O’Donohue, “To Bless the Space Between Us”
O weary heart, I attend to thee
with mangoes and moonlight
bicycles and thistles
cool tea and warm poetry
Though you feel too
full for a whole ‘nother day
you bump along through the dark
Bless you, heart
Photo by John Spade Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Callie Feyen.
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Twirl is writing magic.
“This book is writing gold. This book, like all of Callie’s writing, makes me sit up and pay attention to my life. She reminds me why I write my own stories—fiction and non-fiction—to make sense of the world, my thoughts, my dreams, my reflection, etc. She reminds us that real life, our every day ordinary lives, are beautiful and worth taking a closer look. There’s always more to learn about ourselves and not everything has to have a bow tied on top. We don’t always have to arrive when we think we’ve reached the end, and TWIRL is such a beautiful reminder of that. There’s magic in this book.” – Tracy Erler
- Poetry Prompt: Courage to Follow - July 24, 2023
- Poetry Prompt: Being a Pilgrim and a Martha Stewart Homemaker - July 10, 2023
- Poetry Prompt: Monarch Butterfly’s Wildflower - June 19, 2023
Richard Maxson says
Blanket
Not purled so neatly at the seams was mine,
not perfect for the wind, my cape of dreams,
knots pinned it at my neck, for me just fine
in those suspended seconds from fence and beams,
where weight and fancy fought for what was real,
and I abandoned logic for extremes.
For those moments was I the man of steel,
so weightless with the clouds above the ground,
to touch the wind and sky I longed to feel,
or madness swift and comforting I’d found?
Now safe within a later life I see
these questions and the years were interwound.
The wind has slowed as I move, I bruise
more easily now. That is not to say
with some things I can’t do as I choose.
I wrote a poem today
about my longing for the sky,
how things have changed. And still I say
there is no fault unless you never try.
Once as a child I wore a cloak of dreams,
twice knotted at my neck so I could fly
within suspended seconds from fence and beams,
where weight and fancy fought for what was real,
and I abandoned logic for extremes.
Megan Willome says
(The woman I describe obviously found a way to take flight, with style.)
Social Distance
She rides her bike, decked out with banana seat and basket,
Down our street, her grey hair blows free. She sports
An N-95 mask
Aviator sunglasses
And white satin evening gloves, pulled tight around her elbows
Dana Kinsey says
I adore this vivid portrait!!! This poem makes me really want to know her. The “white satin evening gloves” did it for me.
Michelle says
She pushes off the pillow, rising with unsettled sleep
She pushes off the mat, stretching for the unreachable
She pushes off the counter, praying the coffee will give her wings
She pushes off the mess, breathing deep among scattered dreams
She pushes off the chaos, knowing it will be there tomorrow
She pushes off the noise, finding a pocket of peace to refuel
She pushes off the fear, moving it a little more this time
She pushes off the negative, chanting “not today, not today”
She pushes off the dark, revealing just enough light for take off
Dana Kinsey says
Really gorgeous litany teeming with hope! <3
Katie says
YES, YES, YES – Michelle!