A Poetry Workshop - Part 3

The poetry workshop led by Scott Cairns at the Laity Lodge writers retreat extended over two days, Friday and Saturday. Each session was three hours of discussion and readings, with some additional hours (for me, anyway) for the overnight assignment.

If someone had told me that by following Sam Van Eman’s blog New Breed of Advertisers almost two years ago that I would end up a writer for The High Calling and in a poetry workshop in southern Texas, well, who’d of thunk it? And read a poem I’d written to a group of people I scarcely knew? Who’d of thunk that, too? Two years ago, writing poetry wasn’t even on my radar scope.

But there I was, sitting with 11 other people, listening and talking, listening and commenting, being part of the silence after each poem was read.

At the Sunday worship time, I found myself sitting between two of the poetry workshop participants, Cameron Lawrence and Joan Fry. Another participant, Brian Williams, was sitting on the other side of Cameron. (At the brunch afterward, I would sit with Joan and still another participant, Jean Dunham.) In a few short hours, poetry had created a bond.

So, I’ve written this, for Scott Cairns and all of the workshop participants (Brian Williams, Cameron Lawrence, Joan Fry, Jean Dunham, Bill and Diana Bridgman, Mary Earle, Angela Carlson, Olga Samples Davis and Verbie Ann Helyger).

Workshop

We sit circular,
approximately,
holding pages filled
with hope and
desire and not
a little anguish.
And he says,
the opposite of faith
is not doubt;
the opposite of faith
is anxiety.
We nod.
Tentatively, then
more boldly, we read,
our words suffused
with Spirit, a cascade
of worship.

Photograph: Waterfall at the dam, Laity Lodge; courtesy of my cell phone.