Recently, I attended a poetry therapy peer group where my mentor facilitated a writing exercise, first of all suggesting that with the word ‘inspiration’, we write a piece with each line beginning with the first letter of the word. This style is known as an acrostic – often in the form of a poem.
Inspiration
I I am inviting myself to envelope freedom
N Now in my life, in my elder years
S Sharing wisdom and insights of joys and sorrows
P Poignancy at their midst as lived experiences flow through
I Ideas that kindle thought, then action
R Reaching outwards in ever-ending circles
A Across family, friends and the world beyond
T Time passing by and time standing still
I In the searching for self and self-hood within
O Oceans of space, liberation and wellbeing
N Nature being at its core with its continuous movement.
Then, she offered us the following poem to explore. Try reading the poem and taking a moment to come up with your own reflections and emotions before reading my feelings on it.
To be of use
by Marge Piercy
The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half submerged balls.
I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.
I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who stand in the line and haul in their places,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.
The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.
“To be of use” by Marge Piercy © 1973, 1982.
From CIRCLES ON THE WATER © 1982 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and Middlemarsh, Inc.
My reflections
The stanza I like best and relate to is the third. I want to be with people who submerge themselves in the task – life is a joy and a wonder to them. The people who live what they believe, who have the patience to understand why and what they need in their lives, who work with others, who are like-minded and “move in a common rhythm”; as mothers do, despite all the nitty-gritty of not so-called child-rearing but child-caring when the going gets tough. It is satisfying to watch children grow and change even when, as teenagers, they can throw things back at you only to snatch back those very same things later in life.
Or moving in a common rhythm as writers do, especially writing for wellbeing when the writer is able to grow and change as much as the participant does.
Likewise, I love people who are stoic and steadfast who are firmly grounded in what they do and despite trials and tribulations will continue in a simple way to help others achieve their goals; again like mothers. “The people who harness themselves” to situations.
Yes, I admire the people who “jump into work head first” and are sure of themselves but not if they leave others behind to pick up the pieces, forging ahead regardless of others.
“The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real”. Basically, to be of service, to follow a calling in life, to be true to oneself and to live mindfully and honour oneself and others, seeing the worth in others when offering assistance, for them, and not for oneself.
Belonging, living true to self, is a prime skill, to use one’s attributes and abilities for the benefits of the self and others. As the saying goes, to walk one’s talk!
Of course, in the above, I’m observing and surveying the western world of wealth and choice, not those on the poverty line – whether in the western world or in other countries – where despite often immense poverty there exists within lives, beliefs, rituals, and a cultural coexistence; those who work hard to maintain their environments for the wellbeing of their communities.
Cultural norms and expectations arise from the way in which children are offered their environments. For a child to be inspired, they need to be offered beauty and grace, understanding and be listened to. They need guidance, but there are so many incidences when children are told to do something which makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and probably not to the parent if they mindfully thought about it.
I am inspired by mothers. My personal belief is that caring, loving, conscientious mothers, and fathers and other carers, do the most important work in the universe – they bring up the next generation. However, so often these are the people who are not listened to within society, the ignored, the invisible, rather like the wise elder generation, as they do not ‘work’ and are not seen to benefit the economic situation of society.
I am inspired by mothers who can be among the most significant influencers in societies. They need to be seen “to be of use.”