🏠So Many Things Left Behind

A Poetic Tribute to Our Old Home🏠

In honor of National Poetry Month, this month’s Insider News is a poem about all the things I miss about our old neighborhood. These things are showing up in the vignettes I’m writing for my book, which is finally (but still very slowly) starting to come together.

Poetry is particularly powerful when listened to, rather than read. For Paid Subscribers, I’ve included an audio recording of me reading this month’s Insider News. I hope you enjoy!

so many things left behind

Shady canopies of towering trees 
bearing the weight of history;

Wildflowers peeking through crack-filled sidewalks
made long ago from hand-placed bricks;

One small historic bungalow swarming with charm,
abandoned for years, patiently waiting for a family to call her their own;

Months of meals brought by neighbors
to nourish bodies and souls after a second baby is born;

Sunday smiles and waves from passersby 
on their way to the bustling farmer’s market in the park we call home;

A cup of iced coffee after a night of no sleep
gently handed over the counter with twinkling eyes and a knowing smile;

Inside jokes and belly laughs with sisters, 
becoming tears over thoughts kept hidden—finding their release in moments of joy;

Family picnics where swarms of children play 
in the backyard fountain, catching tadpoles until dusk. 

A front porch swing full
of unfulfilled hopes and dreams; 

Memories longed for but never made.

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Last year, I put together a three-part series on poetry. I invite you to dig in this week and find a collection of poetry you love. Come back here and let me know what you discover!

Part One: Discovering the Joy of Poetry

Part Two: Five Books of Poetry for Beginners

Part Three: How to Read (and Enjoy) Poetry

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Seven Years Ago

“The beauty of faith is that it isn’t about emotion. My faith in Christ can stand strong even when I doubt.” ~On Thomas and Doubt

Six Years Ago

“This place we now live - it looks so different than the one where I learned to parent. Parenting has to look different here … because of the geography, because of the weather, because of the fact that we no longer live in the city. It’s been hard to find my place here … and in a lot of ways it’s been a rough road over the last 18 months. I found myself wrestling with a feeling that I needed something more than being just Mama.” ~On Giving Roots … and Wings

Two Years Ago

“I woke at 2:30 this morning, tossing and turning like a boat on rough ocean waves. The wind roared outside my bedroom window and as I lay there unsettled, my thoughts went to my Mom. It was November when I last saw her and my heart aches at the thought. It’s always in the middle of the night that I wake up thinking of my family. Three in the morning seems like the best time to wonder if we should do what it takes to move back home to be closer to my family.” ~When Home is Where You Are

Thirty Days of Haiku Challenge, on the blog

One Year Ago

“My confidence in the kitchen has come with merely a matter of time. There was a time when I wouldn’t dare mess with a recipe. I followed them exactly, for fear if I didn’t, the whole thing would be a disaster. But as time went on, I’d play around with things here and there. Cooking became less about following directions and more about having fun. For a while, it felt like cooking was the only thing I had control over, so it became a way for my Type A Control freak personality to have a place to shine. But the more I cooked, the more I knew about cooking, and the more I was willing to try. It became less about control and more about play.” ~Learning to Play

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Until next time,