One Way to Write a Poem

The professor

asked us to feel the bottom of our feet

on the ground.

Shoes between

the bareness of skin,

and the wooden floor of the hall we sat in,

three sides of a rectangle

at plastic folding tables.

A sudden memory of another exercise surfaced,

in which you imagine your feet,

soul going down through,

connecting to the center of the earth,

drawing yourself into it, rooted.

And I laughed,

because the last time I thought about that exercise,

I was sitting inside a plane,

seat belt securely fastened,

trying to relax,

while a lengthy stretch of turbulence shook us.

My first thought was,

I’d better not try that now,

I’ll do it when we land.

***

This poem is the result of a writing workshop I attended in June. It can also be found on Medium on my page, and in The Lark Publication.

Hope you enjoyed it! Natalie