#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream
Afternoon Swim, Farm Pond
The path was purple in the dusk.
I saw an owl, perched,
on a branch.
And when the owl stirred, a fine dust
fell from its wings. I was
silent then. And felt . . .
Excerpt from The Owl, BY ARTHUR SZE
Good closure. Great closure! It’s what I needed and gave and received today. I woke early, to make spinach enchiladas. Yes, that was a part of this gorgeous closure. A meal to be shared with dear ones. I watered the plants, the garden. The sunflowers, little green petals poking up from seeds. I printed my handouts, packed my car, rode the five minutes to my friend’s house on Farm Pond to close the six years of the writing collective on Farm Pond. Mixed feelings, yes. Of course. How to say goodbye to this weekly group of women writers grown so close through creative writing and sharing all these years? Through every life change, every political upheaval, the pandemic, births, retirements, marriages, divorces, losses of parents, kids sent to college, foster children adopted, books published, operations and illnesses and simple joys of beauty and truth, indoors and out. . . ahhhhhh. My friend will not be living in this house next year. Our time here is at an end.
We make our goodbye, from writing, and sharing and deep appreciation and memories and laughter and tears. We walk the garden. We share our potluck lunch in the sunshine and. breeze in off Farm Pond, blowing the leaves on the trees, our skirts, our pages, the umbrella. My youngest daughter comes, she has come to join us to conduct Playback stories honoring our writing and our process and our friendships. It is a glorious morning and afternoon of authenticity, truth, beauty, and as one of us noted: no drama. We have beed a powerful collective of women who have deeply risked and shared and listened and supported each other. Such connection and enrichment. I am so grateful for every minute of this collective experience.
I went down to the dock for a swim. The water was choppy and deep blue. My daughters joined me there. I swam around the island, did not swallow any water. Felt warmed the sun. An ending. We gave each other the gift of good closure.