Turning the clock back (ahem) a bunch of years, you would find me out running. Learning to listen to my body and preparing it for a marathon came in the same year I got married. I’ve never been one to sit around.
This past weekend I participated in the Woodland Pattern Poetry Marathon. I thought I was prepared. My five minutes worth of reading was selected with care. Transportation was set.
Whatever I expected, this was so much more. Each hour in the program is sponsored by a benefactor and dedicated to a particular community. Be it a Wednesday night writer’s group or the Wisconsin Poet Laureates (past and present) or a community of local poets, each had their moment of presence.
The first thing you will notice is acceptance. All were welcome. All allowed to read their own work. Nobody was turned away, jeered, or looked down on for any reason. Beyond accepting them, they were all respected.
The delicious menu of forms presented filled me. We heard a variety of poetry from Polish octaves to hip-hop to epic poems and everything in between. Whatever your favorite is, there was much to entice a new appetite.
The world outside can be harsh. These few moments of belonging, learning, and breathing in the emotion released was an experience I will not soon forget.
Faithful Nest 
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