Many of you know my first mini collection of poetry was published by Desert Willow Press in November of 2018. It was written during the year I lived on Saba, in the Dutch Caribbean, with my husband and three kids, while he attended medical school, and I worked part time as a music coach/therapist with a supplemental education program at the local school, called EC2. Poetry has been my spiritual lifeline for years, but it wasn’t until recently that I began to share my work publicly.
“Words the Dirt Meant to Share” contains 20 poems, little snapshots of what my life was like living on a rugged island with a population of less than 2,000, caring for three kids under the age of 3 in large part on my own, weathering the eye of the strongest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history (Irma, followed by Maria a bit south of us), weathering relational storms and deep loss. But they are also snapshots of unexpected friendship, of recovering love, of beautiful adventures, and peaceful afternoons laying in my hammock staring at the azure waters of the Caribbean framed by ripe mangos and coconut trees. I experienced a deep evolution and sifting of the soul, and came out on the other side with the knowledge that the very life that would break you, is the very life that can save you. It is in this tension that Jesus makes a way that is secure and even beautiful. It is in this place of exposing the darkness to the light of love and letting it take root, that transformation and peace can come.
From a Mango’s Perspective
Clouds strung out
like picked cotton floating
at once fixed and free
through the sky.
The sunlit veins
of the leaves
patterned wet
on the limbs,
bright and green,
symphony of whispered dreams
tiny highways of hope
and pain.
Waiting
My eyes can only
see what I see.
You see, my world
is trapped by jelly
white and brown
with flecks of green
too quiet to make
a scene.
My legs can only
stand where I am,
beneath the cradled
roots of man.
A brush too thick,
and limb too slim
I find my feet,
in the shadow
of the wind.
Wanna read more? Get your copy today at Desert Willow Press
*photo credit @Wesley Folsom photography
Kelsi Folsom 