April Poetry/Unplugging Challenge: Week One!

Here are some updates, insights, and poems from my first week into my challenges!

Some things written in my journal:

"It's hard not to get on the internet right after work. It's my usual routine. I usually read blogs to unwind. And instead of watching youtube when I eat, my usual routine, I read the news instead. 

I also got started on editing photos from a recent trip back home. These typically would have been pushed to the side. If I had social media, I would have kept getting sidetracked and distracted. 

But without them, I was able to focus on the photos and get a lot done. 

I did feel an itching to check everything though."

"I feel like being unplugged would be easier if I had my I-pod. I left it in Oklahoma. 

I wouldn't have to use my computer to check the weather or e-mail or bus times or listen to music. 

And thus, I wouldn't be tempted by all my bookmark taps. 

I didn't do all that much productive in place of social media, however. 

I ended up watching a lot of Sailor Moon."

"I thought unplugging would make me feel lighter, fresher, and more energetic. But so far, I feel jittery and uncomfortable. I think that the internet can be a form of numbing distraction. We can get so involved with our online presence, we neglect our real life presence. When we unplug, we have to actually focus on ourselves, on our lives. We have to look around us and we have to take responsibility for what we see." 

It gets easier everyday. I haven't thought about social media in two or three days. Real life starts to fill in the gaps. You find other ways to fill your time. Reading, writing, being out in nature, going out to your favorite coffee shop more frequently, walking, focusing on work, actually enjoying music, spending time with friends. It's powerful to see what little life things get shoved aside when you spend hours on social media a day instead. 

And now, here are some of my favorite poems from my first week! 

"Roots"

chanting beats

the side of my cheek

the center of me

off balance

making breathing worth it

skin counter acting 

the summer cricket song

the lazy smell of cut grass

and I would be sad at that,

but reflected in your face

is my dreams falling short of reality, 

always a bit too hazy around the edges

to be believed.

I've written this poem before

deju vu, an enigma in tones of passion

and weak limbs, hovering before the fall

to mid-day, if we can make it

there and back again

a human's tale

a journey of self circling questions

that cast shadows in the sun

the shape of sly pride

our feet could use the walking

to the silent gate unopened

stone blessings nestled

to quench the thirst, physical

my mind bends beyond

the meeting point of scared

and facing the wind

hands of iron metal

collapsing, caressing

I gasp in reassurance 

in the presence of peaceful sleep

to see the morning keeping you still

I stay

mixed fibers and fantasies

even with wings,

I grow roots. 

"Waiting And Swimming Naked"

a trampled waiting

in extreme conditions

if only I could see myself, 

fetch myself some water from the well

toss a wish in for rainy days

torn away scales to shine in summer skin

water flows onward, 

I'm just a stone in the stream

breathing out the Milky Way

wanting more

but the earth never complains to pay me

I'm ungrateful

wishful eyes, 

held open to the miracle of every limb

a dance to make the prayers leave the dead 

and settle in us instead

ill-received

our dispositions landlocked

craters the size of make believe

water steeped remedies 

to let the light in

thrown of tangent

through the looking glass

think fast

I'm only chasing peripheral visions

the hidden charms of warm wealth

the marriage of words with meaning

leaflet lullabies

to your unexpected arrival

the collision of gasping 

with what we heard is beyond our grasping

strung through

recognized,

stormy eyes, gone calm

"A meditation and dreams of Adam"

an energetic waiting

to turn the world on it'd edge

a slow moving morning

the words I write at snail's pace

just give me one big enough to ride around on

what is worthy to write about when you never experience life?

to whose expectations are you failing?

roundabouts and one size fits all

but I'm too charmed to slash the dreams away

the burden of rational thought eludes me 

minding

cross-legged on uncomfortable rocks

I always get gravel in my shoes

dirt under my nails

colors seen as tones

burnt feet on the way to the throne

extravagance untold

you gasp at all the right places

even in my dreams,

you wear the red hat

but in my dreams your hair is still woven sun

soft and light

 when now it's a glowing brown

a whole face reframed, betrothed, and miles away

counting crows to tell the time

each time my fingers peel

new fingertips reveal

that I'm not just a cycle

not built on bones alone

there's newness in the dust

I've known

creation in the old, 

sown deep and oversold

with each breath

we make a fortune


Well, there we are for now!
I hope April is treating you all well.
As another part of my challenge, I am making myself read once a week at the poetry nights here.
Maybe next week, I will get a friend to take some pictures or videos to share! :) 
It is nerve wracking, but I think I am getting better at being up there in front of people and having even a little bit of stage presence!

Much love,
Robyn