© 2016 j.g. lewis
I keep a little notebook tucked in the front pocket of my packsack. Actually, I have a selection of small notebooks in a selection of bags, and a couple of spare pads on my desk.
While I keep a daily journal — and always have a notebook on the go for reminders, poems and observations — the pocket-sized scratch pads are there should I come across a random thought, idea, or phrase that needs to be written down.
Everything needs a place to go.
I write every damn day. Sometimes it involves hours of composing (or editing) at my computer, other times it is playful poetry in a park. Often times it is sitting in a coffee shop; as it is today, where I am lamenting my neglect in packing my pencil case.
Like the small notebook in the front pocket of my packsack, I always keep a spare pencil (or pencil stub) with every bag in my possession; you never want to be without a pencil.
You never know when something needs to be written down.
Part of my process, my practice, or my purpose, is taking notes. Notes become poems, essays, chapters, letters, or simply remain notes on the nonsense we all encounter.
For me, writing provides time to make sense of the madness.
Writing, for me, provides clarity.
Does it become any clearer if you take the time to write it down?
© 2022 j.g. lewis
It is not past tense.
I have a mother.
How can I say
she is no longer
with me
when I feel her
light
most days,
but especially
today.
It is more than
DNA.
Everything
I know about
compassion,
forgiveness, and
generosity,
are
learned behaviors.
I had a
wonderful teacher.
Still I make
mistakes and they
are my own.
I believe
she would
understand.
It is
what mothers do.
© 2016 j.g. lewis
A note from afar, a note from
a friend, something in the mail
that’s not a bill, or a reminder,
or a pizza menu.
Correspondence. A surprise,
something personal and
appreciated.
Snail mail, you get less and less
in this age of instant.
Too many people are too busy
to drop a note to let you know
what’s going on.
It takes time.
Of course, an e-mail is immediate
but it does not have the same
effect as a letter, or it will get lost
in all that clutter and confusion
in your inbox.
Snail mail is an unexpected smile.
Send a letter to someone today,
just because. It may take a while
to get there, but some words are
worth waiting for.
© 2019 j.g. lewis
I am trying.
to look for colour
in a black and white world
where everything seems
grey, muted, tired,
or threadbare.
I’m trying to be optimistic.
Even the tulips are trying
to shed some light over
the cool, wet earth.
Even they have
taken time to bloom.
Even I took my time
to notice.
© 2020 j.g. lewis