poetry wednesday : to see this clearly

to see this clearly

I am no magic trick, no doer of miracles, no water walker.

I am no architect of glory, no layer-on of hands, no angel wing.

I am no weaver of gold, no mythmaker, no parachute artist.

I am no halo of stillness in a downpour.

I am no treasure chest, no hero, no thunderbolt wielder.

I am no rabbit foot or lottery number.

I am no combination lock, no mystery ingredient, no optical illusion.

But here is a handful of sunflowers from the florist’s sidewalk jungle.

Here is a blanket to spread on the grass for an afternoon.

Here is a song on the radio that calls for dancing.

Here is a chocolate bar I will share with you.

Here is a road sign, a notebook, photographs of those I have loved.

Here is a slice of bright blue sky, a hummingbird

thrashing her wings around an apricot tree.

To see this clearly

is enough.

-Maya Stein

I'm so pleased that this poem by Maya Stein will be in my upcoming book, Creative is a Verb. Maya is a poet with a remarkable voice. I hope you'll consider supporting her project to bring her 10-line poetry project to cities around the U.S. I just pledged to support her vision and I hope to do a joint reading with Maya sometime this fall.

We need more poets in the world. We need to unleash our own poetry (it's there, in every day life). We need to support poets like Maya. All of the above.