“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” ~ Albert Einstein
Author’s Note: In April of 2024, I began attending a writing workshop lovingly hosted by my friend & fellow writer Lee Anne Rankin. Twice a month, she opens her house to us, feeds us three original prompts, gives ten minutes to respond to each, & encourages gentle feedback. I’m endlessly grateful to this group for keeping a fire lit in me… This is one of my responses!
When I was first invited to a local writing workshop, We Write Daily, I wasn’t sure whether I would ever write again. I was back in my hometown after being away since graduating high school, found myself living with my folks at age 36, & felt like a failure in more ways than one. Although my thesis was published as a book of poetry, I hadn’t been able to make moving abroad work, & couldn’t find a job as a professor even after eleven years of university studies. It took getting settled into a routine—after cycling through several different positions at public & private schools—before my confidence came back enough to be in community with artistic peers once more. I went to my first group session two years ago…
I’ve called myself several things—the moniker poet being chiefly among them, & the one I’ve identified with the longest. But I’ve also called myself a peacemaker—for reasons I won’t get into here, except to say that I rarely live up to this label… Rather, it is something I strive to be. Peace felt like something that needed to be created, rather than something that was created for me as a child. I became the best example of what peace looks like to me, which was provided by my mother’s parents—the grandparents I spent my summers with. Creating a home that feels safe & full of warmth has always been my biggest goal in life—one I’m striving to achieve with the help of my beloved fiancé, who also fiercely defends this feeling.
