Ode to My Writing Group or How to Conquer Fear

I wrote this poem to a writing group I was in one summer as a reminder that sharing personal writing is sometimes closely tied to confidence in my writing and trust in the group. It was my way of saying that sometimes I don't have the stamina to take overly negative or personal criticism. It just depends on how I feel, how well I know the reader(s), and what I think of the piece of writing I'm sharing.

Now -after establishing the rules feedback safety in my own classroom - I also ask students to tell their group what kind of responses they want. There is nothing worse than empty praise...unless it's harshly worded criticism.


Ode to My Writing Group…..Barbara James
In collaboration with Dr. Cosmo Turner

If I were five, I’d crawl beneath my bed,
weave myself a cocoon
of darkness and safety
and sleep until the storm subsides.

But I’m not young,
my options not
as simple as the space beneath my bed,
so I keep moving, first one foot and then the other.

Just like that child
who hides away,
I park my car
and disappear somewhere inside myself.

My brakes lights out,
my gas tank low,
there’s little room
to navigate the traffic of my life.

So please... today be gentle.
Bless me…or press with love.
Remember there may be those
who have no voice or passage for this day’s fare.

Sometimes life’s too raw, too real
to find courage to share thoughts…
so I’ve traded in my thin skin for a fur coat and the voice a fine friend:
Dr. Cosmo Turner, PhD (philosophical hound dog)

Pictured on the right