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Little House: A Home for the Brave

3/28/2018

7 Comments

 
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Welcome to the ridge! I'm so happy to have Poetry Friday visitors. For more poetry offerings, visit Heidi, at her space, My Juicy Little Universe.

Spring has sprung all over the ridge! It has braved the storm once again. I took one look at this little house, and immediately thought, "What a home for the brave." At that moment, I knew I wanted to capture this idea of being brave as a writer and accepting whatever conditions may come. I imagined the brave bluebirds that would accept this little house as a home, despite the snares and snags along the way. Then, I thought about all of the brave writers I know who do just the same. They face the blank and empty page, trusting that they will have the words to fill it. Just as the bravest of bluebirds fills the little house with moss, and grass , and hope. When you're a writer, you have to be brave, and make a home for your words to grow. So fill the space inside, accepting what comes as good enough, barb after barb, stretch after stretch.
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Bluebird house on the ridge

Invitation to Write:

Writers face challenges all the time. One of the greatest challenges writers often face is the blank page. I have to admit, I get stuck a lot! Whenever I feel myself freezing up over a blank page, I remind myself that it's okay to give my pen to the page without knowing where it may go. It's okay to accept what comes. And sometimes what comes, isn't quite what I want it to be, YET. So I keep writing, trusting that words will come! When you're a writer, you have to be brave, and know that your words are enough.
7 Comments
Kimberly M. Hutmacher link
3/30/2018 04:38:48 am

So wise. Words we all need to hear sometimes. I love the comparisons you've made between writers and the bird. Thank you.

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Linda M. link
3/30/2018 04:43:32 am

Keisha, what a great metaphor....a bird house that is brave. We build nests and homes for our words. Thank you for this....I'm running with it.Have a great Poetry Friday and Poetry Month this April.

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Irene Latham
3/30/2018 05:14:36 am

Dear Keisha, it has just now occurred to me that we both live on ridges! We are new to ours, and it's actually a bluff overlooking a lake.... but a ridge nonetheless! It's windy up here and at least 5 degrees cooler than the closest city. Here's to brave living and brave writing! xo

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Michelle Kogan link
3/30/2018 05:04:31 pm

Love your "bluebird box" haiku Keisha! I can definitely relate to giving oneself over to the page–this happens in visual art too! We have birds and plants are trying to inch up, but it's still pretty cold here in Chicago, I'm looking forward to warmer temps and more buds, thanks!

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Heidi Mordhorst
3/31/2018 07:56:52 am

Kiesha, I love your brave little poem full of b words and bluebirds! It looks great against that photo. I don't have trouble so much with facing the blank page; it's more the getting it out there to audience part. : ) Wishing you a brave April!

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Kay Jernigan McGriff link
3/31/2018 05:36:31 pm

I love all of this! Such wise words I think I needed to hear as I keep writing and writing and then the next step--to share what I've written.

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LifePoemsProject link
4/6/2018 12:54:33 pm

Your poem affected life?! Yes, you can share your lovely poem and its great "after story" with the world... Submit now on LifePoemsProject.com

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    Welcome! I'm Kiesha Shepard, and I have a love for writing and the teaching of writing. Whispers From the Ridge is a place where I can share my words and ideas for teaching writing. It's also a place for you to find inspiration for writing the words inside of you. I invite you into my world of writing as I capture the whispers from the ridge.

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    16  Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
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    30  Becky at Sloth Reads
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    6   Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
    13 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
    20 Carol at The Apples in My Orchard
    27 Elisabeth at Unexpected Intersections
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    3   Heidi at my juicy little universe
    10 Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect
    17 Denise at Dare to Care
    24 Laura at Laura Purdie Salas
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    29 Linda at TeacherDance
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    5   Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
    12 Matt at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
    19 Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink
    26 Ruth at there is no such thing as a God-forsaken town
    December
    3   Michelle at Michelle Kogan
    10 Cathy at Merely Day by Day
    17 Jone at Jone Rush MacCulloch
    24 Buffy at Buffy Silverman
    31 Carol at Carol's Corner

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