I am posting this quite a bit later in the month than I usually do. Nothing came to me, and I was kind of down in the dumps, anyway. But I have become a member of a poetry community here in Springfield, Missouri, and it has perked me up. It’s an active one, doing readings all over town: in bars, the library, a church, a neighborhood gathering, book stores, a coffee house, open mics, and poetry slams, as well as wherever someone invites us or will have us! It’s fun, and the members of the group are great people and from different generations, which has given me a variety of interesting perspectives.
There is an open mic in a coffee/ice cream shop the first Friday of each month. The first couple of times I attended and read there was only a small audience, and most of us read. But, for the September reading, there were probably 40 people. The colleges in Springfield are back in session, and I think many of the attendees were college students. It was a great night. The energy was palpable, and it enhanced the reading of poems. I loved being in the company of younger people, who may see the world in an entirely different way than I do – or maybe not! But, in any case, they accepted me just as I was, too.
I wrote a poem about my experience, and I will read it to them at the October open mic:
I Remember
They are young.
They are vibrant.
They have stories to tell
that release energy,
exploding into the air.
I feel the pain,
the joy,
that they express,
and I remember.
Yes, I remember,
and they remind me
of another time,
another life,
a life left behind
willingly, joyfully,
for this life,
the one I have now.
It’s not without some grief,
some regrets,
but full of friends
and poets who nourish me,
young and older,
and remind me where I’ve been
and how lucky I am
to be here in this time,
in this space.
The energy is palpable,
real, raw, honest.
I take it in,
and remember.
© 2023 Dorothy A Joslyn
When have you been in the company of people in a range of generations? What was your experience?
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”*
What is something you do or are a part of that raises your spirits? What about it makes you happy?
*Mary Oliver (From New and Selected Poems, 1992
Beacon Press, Boston, MA, Copyright 1992 by Mary Oliver.
All rights reserved.)
Dottie,
I LOVE your poem. Your words, ” . . .of another time, another life, a life left behind willingly, joyfully, for this life, the one I have now. It’s not without some grief, some regrets, but full of friends . . . who nourish me . . . and remind me where I’ve been and how lucky I am to be here in this time, in this space” are so powerful. And at this time of a new Jewish year, when my thoughts turn to looking at the past and thinking about the future, I realize that I too have left a previous life behind and yet I am in a
very good space and time in this moment. And your friendship is one of the blessings in my life.
Your poem has provided a prompt for me for my own writing. Thank you for this.
Hugs,
Sarah
Thank you so much for your kind words! I love it when my poetry speaks to even just one person. It connects me to a world outside myself. Love to you!
Beautiful, Dottie! I, too, am in another time with fond memories of what I’ve left behind. Excited about my current connections and taking in what I’m experiencing now with gratitude. Thank you for your inspiration and insight.
Thanks for your response! Yes, things may be crazy in the world, but life does go on and well in many cases. I’m glad to be here!
It’s been a joy to observe you being pulled in, invited in, willingly and purposefully joining in to this community of poets. I love this poem and I also love the diversity of cultures, lifestyles and generations.
Contra dancing is one place that is filled with multiple generations and it gives me energy! Thanks for the poem.
It is good to be in the company of diverse populations of all types. I, too, am energized by that contact. But the poetry group is especially precious to me. Thanks for your comments and vote of confidence!