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172. Why a Poem

Posted on April 13, 2022April 12, 2022 by caritagardiner
inspirational gold fish

I selected the image above from the results of a Google search for "out of your comfort zone" (a phrase I don't love). The photo appears in a sale-pitch-type article on the Successful Culture International website. (If you're a CEO who wants help being a better leader, you might read the article and/or hire the firm.) Though I hope never to be the CEO of anything, I like the photo for three reasons.

  • First, the quotation makes sense to me; I find it inspiring without being pushy.
  • Second, I like the idea that one would have to forget failures, as goldfish famous for their short memories, in order to leap to new possibilities.
  • Third, I wonder what story the jumper will tell after it reaches the now empty bowl. Will it be lonely and seek to return, or will its jump inspire other carping fish to stop whining and take the leap?

I'm a big fan of trying new things in safe ways and of being willing to fail sometimes in order to find success. Writing my blog has been fun, but I'm certainly uncertain about everything in it. I've had to make a big leap to put my words forward in this way. In January, I published my first poem here on the site. (If you're new to Why Wednesdays, you might click the link to read it. Then, please come back to today...or go back to the beginning and read all 171 previous posts.)

I have no confidence in my poetry. I'm not one of those English teachers who reads poems and instantly understands the deep, inner, secret, hidden meaning. I know better than to "tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it" (Billy Collins, "Introduction to Poetry"), but that doesn't mean I'm comfortable in poetry land.

So you may ask, "If you're not great at this whole poetry thing, why did you write a poem and show it to the billions of people who either already read or will one day read your website?" (Like my aspirational number?) I wrote it to be the goldfish taking the leap. You might look at that right hand bowl above and think it's filled with water, but I think it's filled with satisfaction, with freedom, with knowing I tried something I haven't done before.

We're not halfway through 2022. What leap do you want to make this year? What's in your new bowl? Want company there?

6 thoughts on “172. Why a Poem”

  1. Judith says:
    April 13, 2022 at 2:28 pm

    A nice way of addressing aspiration.

    Reply
    1. caritagardiner says:
      April 13, 2022 at 2:33 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply
  2. Pattie says:
    April 13, 2022 at 3:59 pm

    It’s lucky for your readers that you took the leap. Mary Oliver said that it takes courage to be happy.

    Reply
    1. caritagardiner says:
      April 14, 2022 at 12:43 am

      What a great line. Thanks for sharing it!

      Reply
  3. Richard says:
    April 20, 2022 at 2:08 am

    Four thumbs up!
    Love,
    Richard

    Reply
    1. caritagardiner says:
      April 20, 2022 at 10:48 am

      Thanks to you and PFG, as I’m guessing you haven’t sprouted two extra thumbs.
      Love, c

      Reply

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WHAT I DO

I serve as a class dean and teach English to high schoolers at a boarding school in Connecticut. I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts (Amherst College), an Education Master in Learning and Teaching (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), a Master of Arts in English (Bread Loaf School of English), and most recently a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a certificate in the online teaching of writing (Southern New Hampshire University).

As a writer, I hope to capture the complexity and joy of life in the New England boarding school world. On this site, I share what I know about trying to write fiction while deaning, teaching English, coaching, and doing the other tasks associated with helping to raise over six hundred other people’s children.

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Read my recent “Why” Wednesday Blog Posts

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  • NetGalley Review of These Summer Storms
  • NetGalley Review of Destination Weddings and Other Disasters
  • 339. Why Pan
  • NetGalley Review of The Summer You Were Mine
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