Waxing Poetic: Core Commotion

From the Front Porch

I am an "accidental blogger". When I launched my writing career in March of 2014, one of the things that I decided to include was my journaling, which I have always found to be a comforting and therapeutic endeavor. It was a big risk to open myself up in such a public forum, but it has taught me that, for the most part, we share far more experiences than we think. It's comforting to know I'm not alone! (*the "Button Text" is the link to my first novel)

Waxing Poetic: Core Commotion

8/26/2014

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Image @ printcopia.com

Core Commotion
by Amy M. Schaefer

I feel the turbulence, as my heart pounds and my head floods with a thousand images.
Emotions I cannot name, do not understand bang like debris against my insides.
"Breathe," I tell myself. "Focus on, air in, air out," but it's too late
And all I can do is hang on while the storm has its way with me.
I grip the deck rail tightly, though I know it won't help
Because the winds pounding me are from within, so holding on to something in the fleshy world is useless.
Closing my eyes, I focus on the sun I can feel softly warming my skin,
The tinkling chorus of wind-chimes blowing nearby in the late summer breeze,
And the rich smells of earth and flowers nearby.
"Breathe in. Breathe out."
Minutes pass but it feels like hours before finally
The emotions suddenly are arrested, frozen in place, then they burst apart
And their particles settle like quiet snowflakes, melting into whatever they touch.
My skin prickles from the latent adrenaline rush residual, but my heartbeat slows to normal, balance restored.
Tears dampen my cheeks.
I lift my face, allowing the sun to claim what is left of the storm.
"Okay," I whisper into the breeze. "It's going to be okay."
I keep moving forward.

(Note: Sometimes words come to me just like this poem, in some wild, living moment where they force their way into being just by how persistently they bang on my brain and demand that I free them! Maybe that's the way it is for all people of a creative nature, manifested in a myriad of venues!)

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About The Author

I grew up in rural North Carolina. When I was only nineteen, I moved away and became a military wife. My only aspiration at that tender time in my life was to create an adult life that "fixed" all of the "injustices" of my childhood. Secretly, however, I wanted to reach for the sky! I wanted to be a writer and find ways to "save the world" (my mother used to say, "You have Save the World Syndrome".). Mostly, I wanted to matter.

Since then, I have learned to reach well beyond what I ever dared to think was possible. I've learned not to allow fear to stop me from whatever future I want to create!

What keeps me grounded? My Tribe! What provides the wind beneath my wings? A well of reserves filled with unstoppable passion!

From the Front Porch