But regardless of size color or
design those weathered stones
failed me, and I couldn’t find you …
—ANCIENTS OF THE EARTH: Poems of Time,
D.A. Hickman
What is it that we most remember about those we’ve lost? What triggers those profound emotional memories? Is it walking through a cemetery, or otherwise? In a poem called “The Art of Remembering,” I considered this subject. Though I’d written an entire memoir about loss (THE SILENCE OF MORNING: A Memoir of Time Undone), there is something about the short form of poetry that helped me penetrate the topic in a new way. I knew the poem resonated with readers when someone from a funeral home called to ask me if he could use the poem in a memorial service. But see what you think. From my 2017 collection, ANCIENTS OF THE EARTH, here is the poem in its entirety.
THE ART OF REMEMBERING
Stones were scattered about
like oversized tablets bearing
names dates words of passing
as though intending to captrue
voices that could be forgotten
in the haste of human survival.
But regardless of size color or
design those weathered stones
failed me, and I couldn't find you
until I stopped looking, sat down
on the ground to recall the color
of your hair and eyes, your hands,
your wistful gaze when life wanted
more from you than you had to give —
then, only then, did I find you.
Sometimes it’s the simple solution that guides us. We tend to keep seeking and seeking as the lure of external forms pulls us, pushes us, in a myriad directions. But simply stopping to study nature and the world around us—really take in a peacefully quiet moment—can yield the answers we seek.
Along these lines, I’ve taken quite a long blogging break. Most bloggers seem to do this at some point. It’s not a bad thing, either. A “silent blog” might be a new trend, right? Periods of purposeful silence allow space into our world; they foster growth and help us to rediscover our primary vision, our mission, as it pertains to various projects.
I launched SunnyRoomStudio in February of 2010, so this seemed like a fitting time to begin posting again. With a couple of new writing projects well underway, you could say that I’ve finally freed up psychic energy for blogging. Beginning a new book (at least for me) requires stamina and sustained focus, but once the general flow is uncovered, the subject matter sketched out, formally or otherwise, the story—the piece of art, the book of poetry or nonfiction—takes on a life of its own.
When will I post? What topics will I cover?
Watch for a new post every two to three weeks. Topics will be whatever I’m thinking about when I begin writing. Intuitive guidance is my favorite way to write! But my emphasis will be on simple solutions, on how to find the grain of truth in routine moments and daily experience.
Thanks for stopping by SunnyRoomStudio … a sunny creative space for kindred spirits.
For more about my memoir, THE SILENCE OF MORNING: A Memoir of Time Undone, click here, or to find my book about prairie wisdom and how to tap into your own wisdom via experience and life surroundings, click here: ALWAYS RETURNING: The Wisdom of Place. If you enjoy poetry, ANCIENTS OF THE EARTH: Poems of Time, is also available on amazon. Thank you!
