BLESSED CALAMITY

Consider the blessings of calamity:

For years
I dashed here and there
in a rabbit’s hurry
refusing to listen
to the voice saying “stop”.
As a result
I eventually tripped myself up.

But the hard landing woke me
to my blindness—
I realized
I’d raced to escape my anxiety.

Before the fall
I’d imagined myself to be
a lucky soul
protected by an umbrella 
held by the gods.
But now I knew the secret:
I’d always feared
the sky might suddenly
fall on my head.

Good to finally see the truth.
But I missed my false courage.
Before, I’d felt too anxious to stop
but now, I felt too anxious to step.

Fortunately last week 
another blessed calamity came
to put the spur to me:

a star crashed and burned my backyard black.

Having frozen my legs
I nearly lost my toes in the blaze.
No, we can’t avoid life’s hazards.  
Okay okay, I cried, I’ll go forward.

Someone much wiser than I once said:
When the risk of necessary change 
seems unbearably scary
consider the risk 
of letting your north star fall down in flames.

Blessed Calamity

Recorded on September 18, 2017, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Heather Christle: "Mistake"

Recorded on October 23, 2017, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Howard Altmann: "After Hours"

Recorded on October 25, 2017, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Deborah Landau: from "Soft Targets"

Recorded on December 15, 2017, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Megan Levad: "Foundling"

Recorded on April 13, 2018, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

James Richardson: "Essay on the One Hand and on the Other"

Recorded on July 19, 2018, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Erika Meitner: "A Brief Ontological Investigation"

Recorded on July 26, 2018, for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. www.poets.org

Francisco Marquez's Album

Janice N. Harrington: "Burn"

Wasting Time : written and read by @megwaf for #WhisperingNeds 151 (Wasting Time)

Wasting Time : by @megwaf for #WhisperingNeds 151

she shuffles her feet : written and read by @megwaf for #WhisperingNeds 151

she shuffles her feet : by @megwaf

Bury me where... written by Chris : read by @megwaf  for #ReadMeSpeakMe No.99

Bury me where... written by Chris : read by @megwaf

I claim to be a novelist, poet, essayist, cartoonist, graphic artist, peace monger--and I'm trying to be a world citizen. As for my backstory...let's just say I've lived and worked all over the United States.  I'm self-taught, for the most part, which is like stumbling around blindfolded while looking for the right door.  It's an on-going process. Lacking any true musical ability, I try to make music with language, while also making meaning.  

Blessed Calamity

mythsteps

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