It is definitely not Friday BUT I have slacked on blog posts this month, so I decided to go ahead and post today AND tomorrow!

Last week, I was supposed to meet with a friend to write, and honestly, whenever I go to meet with someone to write, I wonder what questions will be asked, what prompts I or they will come up with, etc. And before I even knew I was going to meet with this person, I had started a poem based on a picture of Piglet (yes, the Winnie the Pooh character) I saw on Pinterest.

*Rabbit Trail: Never underestimate Pinterest. I can’t tell you how may times I’ve redownloaded it back to my phone because just searching through images alone can spark some amazing things. I get a lot of my Instagram inspo from there, which leads to a lot of poetry inspo too!

Well, once it was confirmed that I was going to meet up with this friend of mine, something in my mind clicked; I wanted us to do a little poetry prompt based on what I had just done (and also, when I think about it, I think I’d done this at a poetry workshop I’d gone to last year!). And since I ended up not meeting with my friend due to a double-booked hangout session, I’m going to share it with all of you!

Step 1: The Color

Think of a color, any color! Maybe it’s your favorite color, or a color of something you’re wearing or holding right now. Maybe it’s the favorite color of someone you love, or the colors that are mostly seen during this time of the year (so, since Valentine’s Day was this month, maybe: red, pink, white).

Step 2: The Object(s), Character(s), People etc.

Now that you have your color, think of the objects, characters, people, emotions that are normally associated with that color. Write them all down.

Step 3: Pick One Thing and Write Down All Associations

Now, out of all the things you wrote down associated with your color, pick one. Maybe you picked an object that you love, or that reminds you of a good past time. Maybe you chose a person you admire, or a character that you used to watch on TV as a kid.

Based off whatever you chose, think of the background of that thing, how you feel about it, if you connect with it in some way currently. And write something (a poem, a short story, the beginnings of an essay, etc.) incorporating those things!

This is the poem that I came up with, inspired by the Piglet image above! I thought about how Piglet is always the timid character in the Winnie the Pooh series, and how some say that A.A. Milne wrote the characters in such a way to portray different disorders. Piglet’s disorder is said to be anxiety…

“Piglet”

Little pig, little pig,
Don’t let anxiety win.
You tend to turn to worry when the unknown appears, when
A problem presents itself, and you don’t know what to do, and you
Bury yourself in fear instead of trying to sort through the issues you’re facing and the
Feelings you’re dealing with.
It’s easy for all your “what if” questions to be negative:
“What if this goes left instead of right?”
“What if how I’m feeling lasts longer than a season?”
“What if I’m incapable of getting all I need to get done accomplished?”

A wave of overwhelming washes over you, and any reasonable thinking goes out the window,
Causing your mind to hiccup from one topic or thought to the next,
Stuttering your speech, and placing panic as your default reaction to anything happening.

Because you aren’t thinking clearly, you run and hide in different houses,
Ones that create a false sense of hope that the heaviness your concerns cause will not
Destroy the walls and uproot the foundation.
But anxiety huffs and it puffs and it blows it all down, and you’re left
Shaking and searching, fleeing from the scene to find better shelter from the fears that chase you, from
The storm cloud that’s always hovered over you.

Little pig, little pig,
Seek a Sanctuary that not only lets you in as you are, but also
Heals your pain from the inside out, and
(Contrary to what your mind tells you)
Provides peace and joy through the worries and doubts that have disguised themselves to you as the truth for so long.
Leave anxiety at the door as you step into this
Safe space where you belong without the threat of danger at your heels.

“But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in You I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless.”

Psalm 141:8

#MishyWrites 🦋