Belief

a new poem

Belief

What will we hold onto
at the end of the world
when the skies split
and the stars fall
when the ground beneath
our feet begins to crumble?

What will we do 
when life requires
unwavering faith
ride or die devotion
not just words
and rehearsed hope?

What will we hold onto and
what will we tell the people
     still by our side
          watching to see
               who we are
                    in the end?

Photo by Adam Dutton on Unsplash

It’s National Poetry Month and being that I primarily share poetry here, this feels like a good place to acknowledge the gift that poetry is. Poetry has become a way I condense my big and complicated feelings into something a little more manageable and maybe more relatable to others. In my current season of life, long-form writing feels out of reach. I have very small pockets of time to think and reflect and write, but poetry continues to meet me here. I can scribble down a poem and “work” on it for weeks in between homeschool lessons, while pasta water is heating on the stove, or after my boys are in bed. Poetry can come from anything, anywhere, and doesn’t require all the extra details that *sometimes dilute a writer’s ability to inspire or encourage. Sharing my poetry, I’ve found, holds me accountable to my words (even if my perspective eventually changes) and allows me to fully process something I have been thinking through. It is my hope that in sharing my writing, you feel inspired to work through your own thoughts and feelings, and/or that you feel seen and validated in the season you’re in.

As always, thank you for being here.

Love,

Ashley

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*I love the richness of long-form writing, specifically personal essays and memoir, so this is not a criticism, but my way of acknowledging the skill it takes to include details that keep the reader engaged without distracting them with irrelevant information.