Yes, I skipped a day. Sue me.
Today is Wednesday, the first night of a new semester at Women Writing for a Change. The first Wednesday of a new semester in which I am not enrolled. Booooo. My choice not to with so many overwhelming things in my life going on. The pressure to produce writing for class was more than I could imagine. Still there is a beautiful ache in not being there tonight.
I will not be there when the circle is completed on this first night, not be there when the energy seals them in snugly.
I will miss the hush that holds the empty space so elegantly between the poem and the chime.
I will miss the way Laurie's rings clink against the bowl as she turns it in her hands.
I will miss the "good" chair.
I will miss the way the candle illuminates Cassie's face as she reaches for the candle.
I will miss Linda's funny school stories and Kim's cookies.
I will miss holding the candle, joining my fire to its own or borrowing a little when I have none.
I will not be there to hear Jane's soft-spoken wisdom in few words.
I will miss Terri's tenderness and Mary W-C's laughter.
I will not cast my words into the circle, nor will I feed off the words of others to the point of sleeplessness.
I will be forever outside the circle this semester looking in.
Ahhh, Mary..... Hope the extra time gives you just a little bit of breathing room and peace. And you will always be in that circle with us!
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