A Snapshot of Beauty
There we were, gathered with excitement in a circle. After each person shared their name, John asked us to share our favorite word. The words were unique and different, reflecting those of us gathered. John listened all of us into speech, writing each word on a piece of newsprint.
We were gathered as one, with one common goal, to write poetry. John was our guide. We, together, were his students. I sat beside Mary. Mary was quiet, a bit shy and intent.
John read several poems to us. Then he read the poem, the poem where he discovered what was to be our prompt. “Did you hear about the rose?” he said. John turned to us with great expectation and we began to write. I became Mary’s scribe. She looked at me, I held my pencil and after a little silence she said:
Did you hear about the rose
Don’t pick me
I’m pretty
I want to bloom.
She read the poem to the whole group with me whispering her own words in her ears. John invited her to stand, and with determination she rose and recited her poem, her voice stronger with every stanza. Right before our eyes and she was not only pretty, Mary received her own wish and was blooming.
By Jean Richardson May 2025
Invitation: “Did you hear about the rose?”
Learn more about Camp Hill Communities - Like Camp Hill Copake where Jean and John Fox enjoyed the company and poetry of the community members.
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Beautiful, Jean I can see the poem and feel the surrounding as I read it.
As Jean described this experience, I could imagine it: "There we were, gathered with excitement in a circle. After each person shared their name, John asked us to share our favorite word. The words were unique and different, reflecting those of us gathered. John listened all of us into speech, writing each word on a piece of newsprint."
This part of the poem Mary wrote -- about a rose with the plea "Don't pick me, I want to bloom" has meaning in several directions, a literal flower and a person. I hear "Don't pick on me" and therefore harm my spirit, because "I want to bloom." Thank you Jean for this thoughtful reflection "A Snapshot of Beauty,: