What I Remember When I Say I Hate Doing Chores
This poem came to me during a writing facilitation with a client. We were exploring beauty, kinship, and respect - or seeing again (especially ourselves.) What does it mean to behold the beauty (and hardship) in our lives with kinship, with relationship and with respect? This poem came as a result.
The title came afterwards and made me laugh out loud. I hope to remember this as I leave this wee note to tend to the sink of dirty dishes. I hope to be kind if I forget.
What I Remember When I Say I Hate Doing Chores
I've decided to give up on getting myself together.
Instead, let wonder bloom inside the ordinary.
Yesterday I pumped my bike tires plump with air.
I emptied the litter box before it was full
and wiped the grime off the door of my car.
This morning I filled the laundry tub with soiled clothes
and folded the cloth napkins into squares.
Perhaps tomorrow I'll iron out the wrinkles from my white shirt,
sew a patch in my favorite shorts,
clean out the batch of receipts from my wallet.
There's a ravenous one inside. She's constantly
seeking something shiny, and new –
a long sleeved navy shirt, a book that holds the
promise for healing, a candle for my desk.
I laugh when I realize I wear the same six shirts,
over and over, while my navy blouse hangs unworn
in the closet. My bookshelves are filled with books
I say I'll read someday. How often do I neglect
the candles on the dining room table, choose
to turn on the lamp instead?
I want to be kind.
And I understand that I have a choice –
I can choose to forgive my forgetting.
I can choose to remember by loving well,
by turning to the next thing –
dusting the film off my desk,
returning a letter to a friend,
pausing to admire how the soup pot shines,
her metal lid a mirror,
when I scrub her clean.
“Play allows us a safe distance as we work on what’s close to our hearts.” - Mr. Rogers
Join me for the next session of Gathering Ourselves, September 25th
If you’re looking for a warm, supportive space to say yes to all you are, I invite you to join me and my co-facilitator, Tamara Neufeld Strijack, for Gathering Ourselves.
Gathering Ourselves is a creativity circle to gently explore what's alive in us. We use imagery, poems, children's books, songs, prompts, and our own creative expression – whether it’s collage, writing, drawing or more – to nurture a more generous, compassionate relationship with our inner world.
You don’t have to think of yourself as creative or a writer to come - merely a desire to show up and play.
Our next gathering is on Friday, September 25th from 10 am to 1 pm Pacific time/11 am to 2 pm Mountain/12 to 3 pm Central/1 to 4 pm Eastern/6 to 9 pm London time.
These circles are sacred spaces where we can let down, be, and rest for a while. I'm so moved by how tender we are with each other and the way we strengthen our relationship with ourselves.
If you feel moved to join us, we'd love to have you!
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With a grateful heart, Karly
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