Faith

It has taken over four years to regain faith in myself. Just before I retired from high school teaching, I was sick, exhausted, and unsure if I was doing the right thing. The plan was to finish a novel I started years ago before the pressures of teaching took over, so I enrolled on several creative writing courses and worked hard at prose. But I was constantly drawn back to poetry.

When I first discovered WordPress in 2015, I had no idea what it was. I just wanted to try blogging, to see what it was like. I found poetry, lots of it, in all shapes and forms, and I was inspired by the many prompts and challenges.

My first posts felt like tentative dips into deep water, wary of jellyfish and sharks, hoping to meet a mermaid. And I met so many – mermaids, mermen, merpeople! The warmth and acceptance of the on-line writing community has given me back my faith in poetry, people and myself.

faith and acceptance
poetry waiting to bloom
coral reef of self

Kim M. Russell, 2018

Image result for free and stock images paintings and artwork flowering coral reef with mermaid
“A Mermaid’s Journey” by Amira Najah Whitfield – image found on Pinterest

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Haibun: Faith

Mish is our host this Easter Monday. She reminds us that over the Easter weekend, many have celebrated a religious holiday, commemorating the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. She says that In Christianity and other religions faith becomes the key to salvation, the door to the ‘afterlife’; it can become a way of coping with daily struggles and major traumas.

However, Mish would like to broaden the idea of faith beyond any particular religion in order to include our diverse beliefs. She would like us to write about how faith has evolved in our lives, and whether nature restores our faith in new beginnings. She asks if one act of kindness strengthens our faith in humanity? We can write about a leap of faith or losing faith: in God, ourselves, others, in our own theories and convictions, or in society.

37 thoughts on “Faith”

  4. Your last stanza brought a big smile to my face. I am grateful that you took the plunge as I love your poetry and I’m proud to be a fellow mer….uh……mermaid with you…hahaha. This haibun gradually blooms from grey to sunny skies!

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    1. I’m glad you’re her too! And glad I found such lovely groups of talented writers, all happy to share and read their words with respect and kindness.

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  12. Posting poetry online is certainly a wonderful way of gaining confidence. I’ve only ever found unpleasantness and aggression in one group (which I never went back to). Mostly, poets are supportive of one another.

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      1. SMiLes.. it would be very difficult for me to do what i do if the majority of folks i respond to fully reciprocated the same.. like a ceiling painting back to Michelangelo..
        Hehe.. fortunately not everyone has a ladder tall enough per BroadBand access or Computer to Paint with me but i am Human and words are Friends that i surely now can depend on.. hAha.. every truly artist is an outcast first my FriEnd otherwise art is Naturally Group think in other words it’s par for this course not to fit in as both history and or herstory of original Art continues to Prove..:)

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  18. You may be one of my mermaids. Not sure yet, as I’m still testing the indecisive waters of this online writing community. Thank you for your encouraging words. Sincerely, afraid to go in to the water – too far.

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