ROUND 22: HONESTY HOUR & INDULGENCE

if not joy... what?

Sweet Writer Friends. How are you this week? The sun is trying its absolute darndest, isn’t it? Bless its little yellow socks!

Well, I’ve been on this joy journey, this joy journey we call life, (and the lead-up to our little workshop.) I have been spotting various things that bring joy to me this past week, for example, a packet of noodles that I know I’ll be eating, a dog waiting for its owner outside Sainsbury’s (it will always get me), and the kind woman that works at my local coffee shop dancing privately to songs on the radio. Gorgeous! But like I said last week, this writing joy thing is a journey and a practice, and writing it will perhaps take more than simply observing, but really working through some things. So that’s what I’m trying to do. Patience friends.

Recently I’ve been having not an exquisite time, so the kind of thing I’ve wanted to write is less about absolute abundant joy and ecstasy, and more about fantasy and desire. The fantasies I can escape into when I’m feeling less than stunning and happy, really serve as delicious, private moments of escapism. Particularly writing about pure indulgence. I believe such a practice can feed us in ways faking it for pure joy can’t.

So here is your first prompt this week:

PROMPT ONE: I’LL TAKE TWO, NO I’LL TAKE THEM ALL!

Write about a total indulgent fantasy. Set the scene, where are you? What are you doing? How are you indulging? Whom are you indulging? Make the poem itself a real mouthful. Pack it with rich language. Perhaps make it physically small on the page (like a forkful of a poem, yum!) or allow it to burst at the seams in the white space and spill out into a longer poem.

The purpose of this is to write something gorgeous (sure) but also to feed you. To make you feel alive when writing, and to bring you closer to your desires. This is not a fantasy of ‘I want’ (that’s next) this has already happened, this is your fantasy REALISED. Okay?

Want a little inspo? Here is a new poem of mine about my most gluttonous desires, and my capacity to want!