An Exciting New Poetry Adventure

Introducing Perpetual Poetry Commissions

Friends, I hope that this note finds you staying well as we prepare to usher in the month of October this weekend. Just this morning, I enjoyed my first local apple of the season, and swore I could taste every degree of summer heat and every cool evening breeze in that first sweet, crispy bite. As the dark descends around the edges of these late September days, my wish for you is that you find a way to immerse yourself in the senses of the season: apples, pears, pumpkins, hot drinks, or a favorite cardigan.

As we roll into October, just a gentle reminder that beginning next week, I will be implementing a paid subscription option ($5 monthly or $50 per year) here in my little corner of Substack. While all subscribers will receive a free monthly newsletter sent to your inbox, paid subscribers will receive a weekly newsletter, including poetry exclusive to Substack, and occasional posts in this space aimed to help you reflect on your own creative practice, and how deeply appreciating stories can offer us powerful tools to process the wild, wonderful, and sometimes weird experience of being human. You can read more about my journey to developing a sustainable writing practice on Substack here.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has already subscribed, shared, and reached out with how what you have read in this space so far has resonated with you. It means so much.

Now for a joyful announcement! I’m absolutely thrilled to pop into your inbox this week to share some exciting near-to-my heart news: I am now accepting poetry commissions, just in time for the upcoming holiday season! 

How did this brilliant idea come about? Recently, a dear friend and longtime supporter of my poetry approached me and asked if I would ever consider creating a custom poem to celebrate her mother’s love of the garden she has cultivated and tended for more than three decades. 

I was awestruck by the ask. The idea of crafting commissioned poetry had never occurred to me before, AND I was instantly and absolutely delighted by the idea that I might help to lend words to celebrate this treasured family place. 

At the start of our conversation about commissioning a poem, my friend told me that the garden was lovingly begun by her mother more than thirty years ago and is the place she most loves to spend time, especially as a way of connecting with loved ones, both those who are gone and those who are still with her. The garden is home to more than 60 varieties of flowers, as well as specific trees, plants, and symbols of loved ones who have been born and lost over the years. I was able to look at some photographs of the garden’s many blooms, as well as engage in meaningful conversations with her about what felt most important to capture in a poem. 

I couldn’t get writing fast enough. 

To help give you a sense of what a custom poem can look like, I’m grateful to the aforementioned dear friend for giving me permission to share a portion of the poem I wrote in celebration of her mother’s garden, below. 

---

Eden

One should know, at least once in one’s life, 

the audacity, 

the ecstasy, 

the life giving wonder

of pushing a seed into the dark 

with our own two imperfect but devoted hands,

caked in damp, black earth,

and after many midnights of patiently waiting,

mingled with sweat and grief and strength,

live to see the tendrils of our own heart 

begin blooming outside ourselves, 

growing, 

greening, 

greeting us, 

as pieces of our deepest dreams 

wind themselves around 

the arbors we have crafted from all the rafts we’ve built 

to bring us to just this moment.

Deafening dianthus.

Iridescent impatiens.

Love out loud in lilacs. 

Butterfly weed to bridge 

all those we've lost

with all those who continue to love them, 

still present in this place.

Petals like letters,

heavy with love,

winging their way to us after all the years away.

Wild bergamot buzzing like a crescendo of hearts

ablaze with the songs of remembrance.  

Like souls, seeds merely appear to sleep

while at the heart of their stillness is presence. 

Cathedrals cannot contain the devotion so carefully cultivated here. 

What a gift to ourselves, 

and to those whose little hands we hold,

as we parade through the paradise we’ve tended to,

to root ourselves as deeply as we can,

so that when (not if) 

the storm comes to rage, to blow, 

we might stand sturdy,

wind torn but not wasted,

rising like a phoenix to face the sunshine 

that is sure to burn our eyes with the brightest kind of love.

---

After going back and forth with my friend about a couple of early drafts, I made some final edits to the poem, and I’m full of joy to have finished creating this very unique ode to family and gardens.

Do you have a place that you hold dear to your heart? 

Is there a person to whom you would like to express love and appreciation for? 

Are you savoring an experience that you feel deeply about but are not sure how to express it in words? 

I would be honored to work with you to transform these personal sentiments into a one-of-a-kind poem for a special person in your life - even if that person is you! 

If you are feeling ready to get started co-creating a poem that captures what’s currently on your heart, or you know someone who would love to speak their feelings through a poem, send me a note at theperpetualvisitor at gmail dot com.

I would welcome the chance to continue the conversation and collaborate!

(If you enjoy poetry, you are welcome to explore three of my published poetry collections: New Bird, Wild Unfolding, and Like Gold. You can also follow me on Instagram (handle is @theperpetualvisitor), where I share my scribbled verses from time to time.)