Casting myself into the wild waves

Healing from perfectionism

Day 3 of National Poetry Writing Month

Perhaps this time it will be easy,

Easy! And fun! Low stakes!

Results cast aside, I’ll splash through the journey,

Falling for the mess of process, for “The

Experience” itself -- no worries!

Casting myself into the wild waves,

Tide of judgment shifting, I’ll liberate myself of

Insistent voices, picking at my bones.

Oh, to go back in time, to see that “all or

Nothing” never existed, that life is lived in

Increments of beauty, nibbles of love,

Slivers of hope, and gulps of

Miraculous moments, sharp and windy and bright.

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Prompt: Today, try an Acrostic Poem. Choose a special word, phrase or if you're daring a sentence. Take each letter and start a line that tells of a hidden dream, a burst of joy, or a cool idea.

—

This was the year I discovered my battle with perfectionism. It was a surprise, and continues to be, considering I do not consider myself to be a person of tidiness, neatness, or perfect in anyway shape or form. It has been challenging for me to face this because I don’t believe it! HAH!

That’s the real upshot: my inner critic is so convincing that I have somehow hidden my manifestations of anxiety from myself.

So this acrostic is a bit of fun, and that is the point: I’m trying to challenge myself to not take things too seriously. When I can let go a little bit of control and surrender (but not give up!) that’s a little baby win for imperfect me!

Also, btw — I love acrostic poems, even if they tend to be more popular in grade school than in serious poetry. Kids especially write all kinds of great ones — but adults can too, if they try!