Joy Bank: A Poem

They think I’ve lost

my sense of adventure

as I shy away from ice cold plunges,

one toe touching the lapping waves

Tentatively.

They pity me as I say,

“Go on without me”

as they venture on high seas and tall peaks.

They wonder,

“Was she ever fun?”

And I smile gently, remembering

my own daring adventures,

bottled up in my heart,

feeding me even now.

I can’t tell them

as they look,

seeing my youth fading

about how grateful I am

that they are taking risks

and living

and soaking up

all life has to offer.

I can’t tell them, yet,

how memories,

locked within my heart,

are a Joy Bank

from which I reap dividends

as I do

exactly what it is

I most want to do

Now

(and exactly, as it turns out, what those dividends are really for)

and write,

write and

write.

They can’t understand yet,

that this,

my new, solo mission,

the act of

unveiling and creating,

dipping my pen into

past plunges

is by far,

the most daring

adventure

of

them

all.

This is an excerpt from Laurie’s book Leap With Me: Finding and Following Your Creative Voice.

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2 Comments

  1. Jan Rostov says:

    Although the link didn’t work in Safari, I am touched by your poem. At 72 I am now realizing it’s
    now or never the time to make my photography skills more available to the world. But the wall I
    hit when I even think about what and how is so firmly established, I don’t know how to get beyond it!
    I am hoping your insights and example will help.

    1. Thank you, Jan, I’m glad this poem touched you, and appreciate you commenting. My experience has been doing just a little everyday, 5-10 minutes of treating ourselves to an activity we love to do can work wonders when it comes to moving through resistance. Keep at your photography! You have a unique way of seeing the world that we all need.