It's amazing how, in the enormity of the internet, one can still find deep, genuine community. It's remarkable that, despite far reaching miles and the skipping of time zones, one can find themselves drawn close and held fast by another person. It is wondrous and it is true and it is the story of Elizabeth Marshall and me.
Both of us are writers who hammer out the questions of our hearts and our faith as they dance in tandem with our lives. And both of us fall humbly into the arms of poetry, believing in its power to communicate both the known and the unknown in powerful and poignant ways. It is from this deep place of thought and meditation that this project was born.
Elizabeth and I love each other's words. We drink them up, let them drip from our lips, and let them press deeply into secret places. We very well might have been content to do that from now until eternity. But when Elizabeth cast a vision, one that imagined a coming together of hearts and minds, mingled among shared words on a page, I immediately stood at the ready. And although neither of us had ever attempted a project like this, we stepped out in faith, not fear. With hope unending and love abiding we offer you this...Adagio: A Poetry Project.
Writing is, most often, a solo venture, a process worked deep inside the confines of one’s heart and soul. But when two pilgrim poets turn towards each other and embrace the tension that lies between, something new emerges. A writing “pas de deux” is born and the two begin weaving their words together, in and around, over and under, into something bigger than themselves. The writing becomes a lifting, a balancing, a turning…and the words on the page become an Adagio.
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It is in this spirit that we have threaded together pieces of our souls as our offering to the world of poetry and to fellow poet friends. Most especially, though, we offer it as a gift, and lay it right at the feet of our Creative God who is the Giver of this love of writing and purposeful word weaving. Today we sing this song and tell some of our story…..elizabeth and holly.
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Writing Across The Distance
Her words they twist and swirl creamy smooth
One into another and I drink them in deep and long
She dips her pen into the well of ink
That is her very crimson rushing pulsing life.
And brings up words to stamp white page.
She is like the smiths of old, holding passion fire hot and glowing
And working the ember into ghostly shapes
That cool only when set aside
Full of vibrant living breathing voice, poetic prose
For all to know her very soul
She lives into days fringed with salt-crusted breezes
And her words they ripen and swell
And drip heavy the fruit of quiet days made full with patience and wonder
She dips her pen into places wet with tears of joy and sorrow mingled down
Always honest, her voice knows only raw and real
She a pilgrim soul on a journey long and winding
Open and bare her heart rests upon the feast table
She is waiting quiet and still
While the shaping takes place
She is still and she knows.
No room for mask or veil or artificial
Her art, like incense to her God.
And she’ll dip her pen in nature’s oil
And mingle earth with bone and flesh to make a mix of all the world
Not leaving places unexplored, she will blend the wild and tame alike
And make a holy sacrifice and offering of her very self
A calm and tranquil melody
Poetic heartfelt words.
Two pilgrims on a journey.
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Will you join us as we move in faith on this new poetry journey? And perhaps you might consider partnering with another writer to come along side us in this endeavor? We covet your presence in this space.
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If you, like me, would like to read more from Elizabeth, please visit wynnegraceappears. My writing can be found here at A Lifetime of Days. Together, Elizabeth and I are writing across the distance as our homes are hundreds upon hundreds of miles apart.
