And here......we......go!

 Hi Everyone!  

So I don't think anyone's looked at it, but I posted a while ago saying that I was gearing up for this year's Poetry Challenge.  I had a theme picked out, and it was a doozy:  "Descent into Madness."  Yeah, some heavy kinds of stuff, and not all of it the kind of stuff that people WANT to read.  And as I was thinking about the theme, I started wondering why I felt the way I was feeling about it.  There was something not quite right, you know?  

There is no doubt it would be a cool theme to write and some hard-hitting kinds of stuff would come out of it, but it finally clicked that there is a lot of madness out there right now, and that isn't what I need to write about. For myself, first, there's something better and more appropriate to write.  After a year of quarantines and social distancing and all the other stuff we've had to do, frankly, there's too much madness out there, and I need to write about something different than madness.  For anyone reading, well, the same applies.  We've had one hell of a year, and while some things are starting to get better and heal, there's a lot that still needs help.  Writing about madness isn't going to help.  

So, I've decided to take a new theme: "Writer, Heal Thyself."  I've divided it into 4 different segments - one for each week, and that should leave me with a couple days left to play around :)  The idea is to build on each week, and the circle of influence expands according to each area of need.  These are intentionally broad topics/areas, because there are a lot of ways to approach them.  Self care, for example,  can be about work, about spirituality, faith, relationships, etc - there are many possibilities.  You get the idea.

 - Week 1: self care

 - Week 2: neighborhood

 - Week 3: country

 - Week 4: world

While these seem lofty, remember, this isn't about creating one work that is timeless and leaves its mark on history - this is about starting conversations and introducing ideas.  Not all of them will be good - but the point is to think about and discuss healing, how it happens, why it's necessary, and why we cannot wait for someone else to do it.  We have to engage in it ourselves.

And engagement is precisely what I hope to get from those reading along.  As per usual, I invite you all to respond  with verses of your own.  If you like, I will share them (with credit as per your desires) and if not, then I will relish reading them anyway.  No one is obligated to do so - you can participate or not as you see fit.  While a poem a day for the month of April may be too much for you, maybe one a week will work well for you?  You never know.  Any form of verse is acceptable, too.  It doesn't have to rhyme, I mean it! (Anybody want a peanut?)

So with that in mind, I will write to you all tomorrow!!!!

As always,

Thanks for reading,

Me