What's there?

Welcome Poetry Friday friends! Thanks so much for visiting the ridge this week. Whispers from the Ridge is now on Facebook, too! Be sure to follow me there if you like. If you're looking for more poetry, visit Laura's welcoming space, Writing the World for Kids.

I have been trying a few new things in my work as a teacher and literacy specialist this year. I must admit, it's been challenging. Each day, I felt like taking a step back. It would have been easy to do for sure. I found myself focusing on all the things that were not going as I had planned. What I had envisioned in my mind, wasn't there in my work. The fact that I couldn't see the next step to get me closer to my goal, really discouraged me. Then I remembered a phrase that has been bubbling up lately, start with the end in mind. Of course! I realized it was because I could see the end in mind that I was able to keep going without giving up in the first place. That's when I started to name all the gems that were already shining hope into the future of my work. I began to ask "What's there?"

This poem is centered around this question. Just as I was focusing on the patterns and structures that were already in motion with what I was trying to accomplish, this poem does the same. See if you can find the patterns in the form and devices in my poem as you read it.   

Invitation to Write:

What if we all looked for what is there rather than what is not? Sometimes, whether we intend to or not, we tend to focus on what is not going as we wanted or as we hoped. Instead of mining for what is there, we end up digging ourselves into a hole of doubt that can often seem too deep to climb out of. Whenever this deficit thinking starts creeping into your life and eventually finds its way into your writing, try asking yourself, "What is there?" Take an appreciative lens by noticing and naming your strengths. When we look for what is there, we launch ourselves out of the hole and into a sea of endless possibilities.