the scenic route home from Wales
a haiku
poetic musings
It’s 4:35 am. I’m making a cup of tea. I went to bed and was so hot I couldn’t sleep. So I switched blankets and then I was so cold I couldn’t sleep. And then I was still cold, but sweating and couldn’t sleep. Then Copper left the bed for the living room chair and I decided to fuck it. I got dressed and boiled some water. For some reason, I can better regulate my body temperature when sitting up? No, seriously…?
Tired as I am, there’s a quiet pleasure in the early morning darkness. A cheekiness in doing something else when I should be sleeping. I never did like that word: should.
I drank two cups of tea, drafted a writing, and drew some circles all before the February sun rose into my small windows, effectively engaging in the most important activities before many in the Americas even rose from their sweet little beds.
Today will be particularly slow with lots of naps. I have found to expect little else when the moons are coming into fullness or newness.
the scenic route home from Wales
a haiku by Libby Walkup
scraggly sheep dot green mountainsides lit by hazy rays peaking through clouds
invitation for reflection
Years ago I was visiting a friend in Bath, UK and we drove to Hay-on-Wye to see Zadie Smith at the summer lit festival. She read from her poignant collection Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays (2009), it was fabulous (and yes, about that long ago!), but this is the moment I really loved about that journey: pulling over onto the side of the road, mingling with the sheep, trying to capture the whole thing: the rays of the sun, the cloud shadows moving across the mountainside, the green, green of the Welsh grass so nurtured by rain, all on a very shitty camera (probably an old iPhone 5). I could have sat down there on the side of the road and cried for how beautiful it all was.
I don’t know if “stopping time” includes re-visiting these awe-struck moments of our human experiences, but I feel fuller doing so. What’s a moment from your experience that you enjoy coming into presence with over and over again? Have you tried to capture it from different angles or through different mediums?
in the post
This month family gets post love. While culling my collection of old photos for the ottoman pouf project, now more or less finished, I found some photos from way back I felt called to send back to those captured. Of course, I meant to have them all out before now, so they’re accompanied by distinct holiday cards. Shrug. Love is love.
invitation to submit
unraveling, unmoored seeks submissions On Practice and Poetic Musings. I can’t wait to share your words with this publication’s growing readership. Submission Guidelines can be found on the About Page. If there are any questions, please send a message.
With love and gratitude,
I definitely would have cried over how beautiful it was in Wales. The picture is incredible and we all know how it goes with pictures. Amazing!
This really resonated with me, thank you for naming this feeling and timing: Today will be particularly slow with lots of naps. I have found to expect little else when the moons are coming into fullness or newness.
Love this 💖