Hello all!
It’s Christmas Eve. For me right now that means reflecting, it means trying to stay in the moment, it means numbing a bit, I must admit. I am not with my daughter this year. And we are faced with yet another round of the old custody battle Olympics. And let me tell you, this fighter, this mama bear, she is exhausted. And yet, as parent’s know, as mom’s know, we keep going when it comes to standing up for what is right and good for our babies.
And yet, and yet, and yet, as poet’s know, as reader’s know, as tender heart’s know, we need to escape a bit. Into writing, into reading, into okay, let’s face it, eating. My vices are few and wholesome, I will admit. The eating one is the one to worry about!
Tis the season for sweets and cakes, cookies and cocoa. Wonderful things!
And it is always the season for poetry. Some days, of late, I will have not much poetry, or just so so poetry. And some days, of late, it is nonstop, it is nonstop and it is pretty good. So, I want to share a thing I just learned to do - I am learning, I am growing, this is life, right? And then a new poem.
And I want to thank you for your support in getting these newsletters, in buying my little book, in reading my Medium stuff, in all the ways this community has helped me, and my girl, during the times that are rough and I need helping hands in these ways.
Thank you and happy holidays to everyone. The moment is here and now and that is where poetry brings you to, I hope, again and again, back to the now, back to being and feeling okay.
See you next week for some 2020 poetry goals and poetry love!
Sincerely,
Jenny
The link to my poetry book, should you want to share it and love it:
Love in the Time of Climate Change, A Book of Poems by Jenny Justice
And this week’s poem of the week
Happiness (link here to read it on Medium and support me there!) or, full here because poetry is important in your in-box too, I know!
Happiness
And it is all we would wish for
each other, and yet the meaning is obscure and the
shifting is constant, the seeking, the search
elusive, out of reach, brief,
we get it, it is fleeting, we get it it flees
we think oh it is candy it is flowers it is hearts it is rainbows,
and in real life it is just a sense of peace
it is what we have, being noticed, being seen
it is who we are, when we want ourselves
it is us even with dishes piled even with clutter even with imperfections and
hypocrisies and struggle it is us when we decide to let go
of that which is not meant for us, when we decide to stop chasing
the things that are suffering and when we accept it all, as it is
and sort through what needs sorting to just
find ourselves and our lives in the midst of what matters
giving, giving, giving and giving
happiness shines when we take ourselves
out of ourselves and use what we have
to do good for others, to do good for society
to take our hearts, minds, bodies, lives and use them to
change the little bits and pieces of the world
within our reach.
Jenny Justice is a poet mom who longs to bring poetry to life in ways that spark empathy, connection, joy, and feeling. She loves writing love poems, climate change awareness poems, poems for kids, and of course, poems about poetry and poets. You can follow her on Medium and at Jenny Justice, Writer and support her poetry at Justice Poetic.Sign up for her poem a week newsletter he