Rain, a Poem, and Letting Go

I belong to Poetry as Movement and enjoy responding to prompts in the community and attending workshops. I went to one recently themed around silence to song. I don't consider myself a poet, but the exercise was really about expressing emotions in the body.

We were invited to write something in the quiet, then share it out loud if we wanted to. I volunteered and felt a little nervous going into it. I've been working through leaning more into living authentically, letting go of the need to censor myself and just letting things flow. What came out was written in the first five minutes, not polished or perfect. I gave myself permission to share it anyway, which is something I've been trying to practice in other parts of my life too, not waiting for things to be perfect before starting or trying.

Gentle stirring, light and rhythmic, peck, peck, peck.
Growing stronger, breaking free from this hard shell.
The world is vibrant and alive.
Rays of light, leaves dance and sway, trees in conversation.
Soft raindrops splatter and ripple outward.
Fear in joining, for I cannot yet fly.
Confidence grows, wings stretched, I take the leap of faith.
And I soar.

A few nights later, thunder rumbled and rain poured outside my bedroom window. Teeny thoughts crept in about the many other things I could've been doing. Instead, I chose to continue watching my favorite series. It was just the storm outside and something juicy I could completely absorb myself in. Part of me felt like I should be doing something more productive with that time. There doesn't always need to be a to-do list or a goal to accomplish. Sometimes it's just about letting the body rest and regulate.

Both moments mattered and asked completely different things of me. One stretched me into something unfamiliar. The other let me stay exactly where I was. Joy shows up in both places, sometimes in doing the thing that scares you a little, and sometimes in doing absolutely nothing at all.