"The Backpack" by Kelly Hanwright

The Backpack
by Kelly Hanwright 

Some days I feel as if I am carrying
a backpack filled with concrete.
It sits on my shoulders
like a 300 pound man.
On days like this my feet drag;
jaw drops and I am afraid
to smile at anyone. 

But what would happen if I set it down? 

If I set it down
then
it would surely explode
and shatter life’s purpose.

***

Please read the original post with the backstory and freewrite for this poem at Kelly’s blog here.

***

Poem inspired by prompt from Day 2 of 30/30: What are you carrying?

Register to join our free daily writing hour.

30/30 in 2020: Writing Through Pandemic

We may be in a global pandemic but April is still National Poetry Writing Month. (Or #NaPoWriMo.)

This means people all over the country approach the task of writing 30 poems in 30 days. Some may call this crazy, or fun, or challenging, or necessary. Whatever you call it, if you’d like to, you can jump on this train however you’d like. You might be an experienced poet, or you might just be interested in poetry and think you might enjoy it.

Every day in April, I am hosting a virtual writing hour live on Zoom from 8:00-9:00 am PST. Rise & Shine, let your heart out onto the page. I give a writing prompt if you’d like to follow along, or you can simply use this time to work on whatever you like. Whatever else happens in your day, you will have written a poem! Hoorah!

Everyone is welcome to participate, and I strongly believe poetry is good for the soul, and good for everyone.

Wherever you are, whoever you are, you have a wealth of experiences, emotions, language, and insight inside of you. These are unique to you, yet perhaps relatable to many.

Your poems already live inside you, just waiting for the opportunity to arrive on the page. Why not give them the space to show themselves?

Especially during this extremely difficult time of uncertainty, sitting down to write in community every day can be inspiring, freeing, uplifting, and comforting. You are free to join us any day, some days, or all days, and can register for free here.

Publish the Poems You Write Here

I’m writing this blog on Day 4, shortly before our 4th daily writing session, and in three days, I can already appreciate the benefits of being together in community, writing for ourselves while being with others. A great idea has come out from the group, and I love great ideas, so I’m going to follow it.

I’ll be offering this blog as a space to publish any of the poems that arise out of our time together.

Anyone who has joined in for any of these sessions is welcome to send me a poem they have written, and I will post it here on this blog so you can see it and share with whoever you like.

Keep writing, keep breathing, keep connecting. From my heart to yours—thank you for co-creating this space with me.

(P.S. Novelists have their own month in November, National Novel Writing Month, and they sit down to write an entire novel. Isn’t that amazing? I made it to Day 7…)