Month: December 2025

Poetry Friday: “What is Poetry?”

Catherine Flynn10 Comments

Last week I was lucky enough to attend a taping of Krista Tippett‘s podcast On Being at Symphony Space in Manhattan. Krista’s guests were Joy Harjo and Tracy K. Smith, two of the most acclaimed poets of our time. The evening, billed as “a conversation,” was enlightening, thought-provoking, and inspiring. I tried to take notes on my phone, but quickly realized I couldn’t keep up with the brilliance shining from the stage. Still, I managed to capture a few nuggets of wisdom, which I have tried to distill into a poem. Fortunately, at some point in the near future, we will all be able to listen to this conversation and learn all the “beautiful things” these women have to teach us.

As we move through time,
year after year,
new layers of meaning
accumulate
like pages
In a manuscript–
each sheet containing
some small surprise
or contradiction
to all that came before.

Remember this:
Don’t be afraid.
Witness new wonders.
Feel with radical compassion.
Find a deeper
and more resonant
truth.

Draft, © Catherine Flynn, 2025

Please be sure to visit Linda Mitchell at A Word Edgewise for the Poetry Friday Roundup.

Poetry Friday: The Princess Dress

Catherine Flynn5 Comments

For the December challenge, Heidi asked us to “address an item of your clothing.” What sounded difficult turned out to be easy.

I found you at Reads,
a department store I loved,
where I could always find 
exactly what I wanted or needed.
They closed years ago.

You were for a special occasion—
the wedding of one of my oldest
childhood friends.

Across the ocean,
a prince had just married
a princess,
and the racks were full
of dresses that she might wear.

You were a splurge, 
but I didn’t care.
I knew the minute
I saw your chiffon and satin
stripes, deep blue 
like the summer sky,
I knew you were the only 
dress I could wear.

I adorned your ruffled collar
with my mother’s pearls; 
pearls dangled from my ears
and wrapped around my wrist.

I don’t remember the wedding 
at all, haven’t seen the bride 
in years. 

But you hang in my closet,
still waiting for the day
you’ll turn another girl
into a princess.

Draft, © Catherine Flynn, 2025

Please visit my fellow Inklings to read about their favorite fashions:

Mary Lee Hahn @ A(nother) Year of Reading
Linda Mitchell @ A Word Edgewise
Molly Hogan @ Nix the Comfort Zone
Margaret Simon @ Reflections on the Teche
Heidi Mordhorst @ my juicy little universe

Then be sure to head over to Live Your Poem where Irene Latham has the Poetry Friday Roundup.