Thanks to Cassie Caverhill for an outstanding workshop at the Writers’ Assembly yesterday. She brought a colour-coded emotion wheel into the prompt pool, and the inspiration was to use an emotion’s ‘contrasting’ emotions to write a poem. The emotion I chose was ‘sadness’, and it’s contrast is ‘joy’, so I used words in the joy category to describe the sadness. It was a very illuminating exercise.
I came this | | close to getting off instagram yesterday, but have committed to posting without scrolling. I want to get off Facebook entirely, but I go to it for local events. I’m dealing with the question of what it will mean to stop this ‘community’ connection for the soul-sake of releasing myself from this platform. Maybe it means I send more emails and ask for information? Maybe it means I trust that folks will email me if they want me to share their event in my newsletter? Maybe it means I stop the newsletter…and trust that we all will find ways to connect with each other in organic other ways?
I think I’ll be in the blues for some time still. Figuring out these feelings…Thanks for your patience.
Blues
blue knitted sweater, pilling
a dead grandmother’s longing
looped in each puny purl
I am attracted to the
sturdy warmth of this
longing’s body on my body
my dead grandmother knitted
socks, scarves, blankets
with shadows between meals
nostalgia swells my pink tongue
I am always hungry
yellow flowers butter me down
dandelions under my chin
get sentimental for heads
with blue bristles
not the colour blue
the feeling – seeds
fluffing, forgiving, flying
VANESSA SHIELDS 
Oh my precious V So full of feelings of thats Not It So full of mystery to those close and those who are far Relation to interaction with our bodies Broken, battered, torn and damaged – that red thing Our minds controlling each and every micro part of blood drops and flow I know, I love, I feel for you, the joy, the sadness in us Its there, its here On Parent Avenue Ups and downs Oh Vanessa You kick sparted my Monday! Thank you. Mexican town tonight Fight the immigration lines to delve into Margaritas and brilliant beans fabulous friends and family to feast No more stinging, this will come, Vanessa into exactly what you need. I shall continue to pray to our Creator ~ and breathe deep while soaking up colour’s of new blooms.
Wishing you a blessed day 🥰 Xxoo Robin McLennan
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