Writing, and the Wonder of Windows

Hi all! This is my first post on the class blog (or any blog that I can think of, for that matter…!) so I’m just going to give it my best shot.

When I first got home, more than a month ago now, I found it impossible to write. As someone who is usually journaling all the time and who loves to write poetry, this felt uncomfortable and foreign. I think I was afraid to put down in words all of the tumult I was experiencing inside--or I was afraid that writing would reveal different kinds of tumult that I wasn’t even aware of experiencing. Maybe it was a bit of both. Regardless, although things are still very far from “normal,” I’ve finally started to write again, and it’s brought a sense of rhythm and creativity to my days which I wouldn’t trade for the world.

As I’m sure many of us have, I’ve been thinking a lot about Emily recently, and how this forced reclusion we are all undergoing makes her poems, thoughts, and lived experiences that much more relevant and real. I’ve felt Emily creeping into my life in a variety of ways, from wanting to buy a white dress to wear around the house (still considering it… haha), to spending more time than I ever have before simply staring out the window.

Whenever things get tough, I personally take comfort in trying to look at the situation and seeing what opportunities it might present to me. It allows me to process any pain I’m feeling but also look forward to how I can learn and grow from the discomfort. This time trapped in a smaller world has been teaching me the wonders of knowing one space very intimately. I’m so used to being out and about, that I’ve never noticed the small worlds existing right in my childhood bedroom or my parents’ backyard. I think of Emily as I watch a hummingbird drink from our rain-filled eaves, as I track an ant’s path over the brick steps to our front door, or as I contemplate the green leaves of the old oak tree outside my bedroom window. I think of the acuity and wonder with which she took in her limited surroundings, and I strive to do the same.

That’s all I have to say for now. I hope you are all faring as well as you can be given the circumstances, and are finding some things to delight in--however big or small.

With love,

Sara