First, apologies for the blog title. Sometimes I forget that I am writing to adults and not sixth graders. You would not believe how many laughs I have gotten out of my middle school students by using that line!
I do write a bit of poetry. Mostly, I write fun poems to celebrate birthdays or other congratulatory occasions. I have definitely written more than one "Ode To Troy Burwell"! This past spring, I gave my sixth graders the assignment of writing a poem, and I have always promised them that I will do any and every assignment that I give them to do. So, I did.
I am going to be honest...I'm not that bad at it.
I wrote from my heart. I shared about a topic that we women (especially) often deal with--outer beauty--what is in the mirror. I write it as if I could go back and speak to my teenaged self. This is what I would say to her.
“Mirror Liturgy”
How do I look?
It’s my daily grief
I bow down to the mirror god,
My security thief
I spend too much time here
My hair, my face, my eyes
The mirror god commands me, look better!
A liturgy I’ve come to despise
When will I be pretty?
When will I grow up?
I am anxious, afraid, and fettered
Of what I will or won’t become.
But today in the mirror, it’s different...
it is me I see there--
Not the me of here and now
But the me of later years.
She says, come close and listen well
There are things that you must hear
Truths for you to cling to
Hope to keep near
You are made to do good
And created by design
In your heart there are passions
And places to shine
Wait for your true love
And all those children too!
A home and all that you ever dreamed
I promise... it’s coming soon.
Right now, you don’t feel seen
By anyone but you,
In years to come you are beheld
By a lover strong and true
And children to adore,
And babies to raise
And students to teach,
And prayers to say
Good fights to fight
And mission to do
These are the dreams
That are waiting for you
She smiles at me with pride
Whispers a new liturgy in my ear:
You beautiful girl, be strong and secure
It only gets better from here!