Slack Satori

satori \ sə-ˈtȯr-ē

n
(Buddhism) Zen Buddhism the state of sudden indescribable intuitive enlightenment  [from Japanese]•

Hmmm. Tell a creative (poet, artist, musician, sculptor) that something is indescribable, and chances are they will receive your words as a delightful challenge!

I’m happy to share that my poem, Slack Satori, was published today in Writing in a Woman’s Voice.

 

The poem:

 

Slack Satori

 

I never was an island hopper
jet setting from continent
to continent,
or even state to US state.

When I leave something,
I walk away slow,
dropping footprints
like breadcrumbs

for miles, just in case
some tender thing
wants to follow me,
coax me back
to a different view
of some well trodden path.

Plodding through a life this way,
one has time to take notes
of all the people and places
that seemed unperturbed
by one’s leaving.

Adding to the list of things
one never gets over:

being born,
being shamed
unrequited love

pets and people dying.

Giving birth,
divorce,
miscarriages.

Realizing you aren’t special,
then finally realizing
you are.

 

Published in Writing in a Woman’s Voice 8/22, winner of their Moon prize on 9/10/22

 

Thank you, always, for reading my words!

Warmly,

Melinda

 

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers