May 1st thru the 5th last week I had the wonderful chance to attend the C.S. Lewis Writer’s Conference in Colorado Springs. The entire experience and environment were new to me and at times left me feeling like a fish out of water. My gaffes in public and private were many and even followed me home. This poetic reflection is a response to the occasions.
Airport Recollections On Decorum (or lack thereof)
Rehearsing the weekend writer’s conference of
People Much Smarter Than Me (than I?)
Ever aware to keep up appearances
As a Serious Poet, I scan the schedule
And embark.
Unmoored from my own comforts,
Unfamiliar with the terrain at my feet
And beyond my eyes, unacquainted with
Furnishings not my own, their placement,
Make up and size, gaps in the schedule
Offer a small respite from my ungroundedness.
The unfamiliarity catches me.
Lunch or breakfast, coffee time and more offer
Surfaces from which my various drinks
Become projectiles, upended from the
Tables where they reside, cascading as they
Tip and pour and spill. I drench shoes with a
Wayward glass of tea, drown the contents
Of my book bag with dregs sufficient
To soak the flotsam and jetsam therein,
Bookend the weekend by thwapping my
Triple shot latte with my wayward bag,
(safely. not.) ensconced on the airport
table and landing splat! on the carpet.
…
Here, in front of God and everybody,
My humanity is confirmed, incarnation
Of holy hope in a fallible container,
Created to bring God glory here on Earth.
Oh Jody, I see myself in this, too!
Oof! I relate to this poem so much! I love these lines:
"Here, in front of God and everybody,
My humanity is confirmed, incarnation
Of holy hope in a fallible container"