Keepers of the Flame

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Keepers of the Flame


I’ve happened onto a new process with poetry and I want to share what I’m learning from it. When someone finds a use for a poem of mine, I take that as a signal that the Universe wants me to pay attention to the poem myself, and to learn something new from it. Always there is something new. I may have had something in mind when I first wrote the poem, but other people see different things in it. And so might I in this moment. Things I’d not seen before. Here’s my most recent example of that practice.

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Turning Towards Life: A Podcast

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Turning Towards Life: A Podcast

Out of the blue, I got an e-mail from a stranger named Justin Wise in the UK with a link to a half-hour podcast that he and colleague Lizzie had done, about my poem Fire and what it suggests to them. Justin was reflecting on his habit of piling on more work. And Lizzie who is three weeks into motherhood, sees the poem as guidance and encouragement. I'm delighted (it's always a gift to know that our work in the world has been of use, near or faraway). The words of the poem are my own. But I'm curious about their take on it. So I listen.

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Being Baffled

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Being Baffled

Yesterday, a friend was searching for a poem to share with people who are training to be coaches—life coaches not football coaches. (Although come to think of it poetry for football coaches might be a good thing.) 

As I thought about it, I realized that when I need coaching, myself, (which is fairly often) it is usually because I am feeling stuck, confused, mired in.

And what came to mind for me were these words by the farmer poet Wendell Berry:

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Things That Flowered

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Things that flowered
Yesterday, last week,
Have passed
And new things bloom. 
This morning
It’s the daisies, lean and
Scrawny, with their
Cheerful petaled faces. 
In only ten days time,
The heavy purple lilacs
And scented fields
Of lily of the valley
Have given way to
Honeysuckle and
The early roses—
Soon lemon lilies. 
How to celebrate
Each one,
Each moment,
Every season,
Feeling still
The momentary sadness
Comes with knowing
That the beauty
That was yesterday’s
Is gone. 
    Judy Brown
    June 16, 2018
     Leland, Michigan  

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The Lion Tamer

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The Lion Tamer

Time magazine recently ran a piece on all the factors that contributed to the closing of Ringling Brothers Circus.  Not the least of which has been the rise of a different kind of circus:Cirque de Soleil. While I've been fascinated with the ascent of Cirque, I am
haunted by a photo that accompanied the Time magazine story--a photo of the empty Ringling Bros circus circle with the lion tamer and lion together in what could only be described as an embrace. A last embrace.

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The Work of Many Hands

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The Work of Many Hands

I subscribe to a daily poetry post created by Joe Riley.  It’s called Panhala.  Because the poems he selects, so often speak to me personally, I find it a good way to start my day.  And yesterday to my amazement, the poem to start my day was one of my own about my brother David who builds and rebuilds wooden boats:

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Lunch with Alice

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Lunch with Alice

Years back I wrote a poem prompted by something the Dean of our Public Policy school said to me in passing.

Poems have a habit of showing up that way, popping up out of a conversation in the hallway.


But this one was unusual--it had a specific name in the title--"Lunch with Alice."  And I thought of it as a love story, and also a story of wisdom about how we choose to spend our moments.

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Leadership Development: “results are not immediate.”

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Leadership Development: “results are not immediate.”

Last week a group of non-profit leaders from elder-serving organizations met here, and one thread that ran through our conversations, was begun by my colleague Audrey, who said that she was increasingly aware in leadership development work that “results are not immediate.”  Results come in their own time. 

 Her words have stayed with me, particularly after watching the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympics.  How long people trained to compete at that level!  The amount of practice to develop that level of mastery.  The quality of coaching.  The support of family, friends.  “The results are not immediate.”

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On Encouragement

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On Encouragement

I came away from last week's poetry gathering at Kirkridge--Bread for the Journey--thinking of the power of encouragement in the lives of those who love poetry and those who write it. 

Eighty-four of us gathered for four days--listening to poets and poetry. And to stories about poets and their poetry.  And everywhere were stories of encouragement. 

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Perfectly All Right

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Perfectly All Right

Recently I was co-facilitating a weekend retreat at Pendle Hill on the theme of The Undivided Life.  My co-facilitator, Carol Kortsch had brought along a collection of natural materials from woods and garden—items that are beautiful even in the winter, simple, natural.  Rocks.  Branches.  A turtle shell (her favorite).  And a complex twist of roots and twigs bleached out into a single piece of driftwood.  That was my favorite.  

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