I haven't been myself since...
What can be done in 10 minutes
The writing group I belong to meets weekly — either in-person or on Zoom.
We don’t give critique or help each other “improve” our writing.
Rather, we write together, and we share it. And we say nice things to each other about what we liked from the writing.
It’s 30 minutes of writing without stopping. 10 minute writing jags, hopefully with as little inner censorship as possible.
Then we read some of what we wrote out loud. Others listen.
No “constructive criticism.” Positive things.
It works.
It’s Tuesday evening so I’m going to write.
I’m setting my timer now. I’m going to practice my 10 minutes of writing here, the same as ever. I’m not going to edit it … leave it just as is, first draft.
Here’s one of this week’s prompts:
PROMPT 3: "I haven't been myself since ______."
(10 minutes starting now)
I haven’t been myself since we started
Trying. I can count back to that day,
It was in the flat on Randolph Avenue,
When we started setting timers and using
Calendars, and subtracting the impulse from
The act. I think I might have left the last of
Me out in the tiny flat at the end of the
Piccadilly Line, where we were “Just Married”
And sleeping on a pull out couch, watching
The Summer Games on the last tube TV
In the western world, marveling together
Over Doubles Badminton and Dressage
And other events never before televised
In America. Those 6 weeks were the
Roll around days for certain, the impulsive
Post-pub romp, when we still smelled
Like cigarettes, though not our own,
And hadn’t yet acquired the knack of
Drinking tea in the morning. That was
Love on a budget, navigating life
By the A to Zed, leaving for work
About the time he was finishing.
Wet days searching for a place to
Put the laptop, then searching for
Something, anything of use to say on
It, collecting images of the
That certain kind of London Blue Sky
That only it can claim, on that
Candy-bar brick Sanyo. Then, something
Happened after that autumn, after we
Landed in Randolph Avenue, after
We started paying too much for space,
After the Christmas lights where put
Away, after the yellow shirts turned to
Black and my hips ached from the
Hard wooden chairs and filling
Bytes with useless stories that
I wanted to have meaning but
Kept falling and falling away.
—
That was 10 minutes — 10 minutes of writing from the prompt that I unwound without too much thought.
The most thought that happened was in the first minute or so when I had to sit still and think: what words will come “since _____.” Then I write pretty much without stopping.
Since we write on 3 prompts, I might not choose to read this one. It doesn’t feel as great to me in the second part of it … But that’s constructive critique (eek!) so I’ll say this instead:
I was surprised this topic came up in my mind and I was interested in it. I feel it’s worth exploring those first few months in London further.
I liked the idea of “the last tube TV/In the western world” — because it really reminded me of the timing of when we were there, and how apartments can be furnished. No smart phones. It was really hard to even get Wifi installed at home.
I’m happy about the “love on a budget” idea, and I think it has some validity in this case.
I liked the repeating of “afters” to move time forward.
So, this is the way the writing group works … write some, share some, listen, and call out the beauty that is there. It’s more fun with the group, though!
It’s a terrific model and it works. Awesome humans make it work!
(Learn more about The Writing Workshop KC — or join in via Zoom on Tuesday evenings.)
Note: I went back and edited this post to add photos etc. but I left the poem as-is.