It’s the first Friday in March, and although we still have snow on the ground, it’s been rainy and bare ground has reappeared on south-facing hillsides. Still, spring seems far away. So what better way to fill these dreary days than with thoughts of becoming? That is the challenge Margaret posed for the Inklings this month.
Honestly, I struggled with this all month. This word took me in so many different directions, I didn’t know if I was coming or going. This draft is where I landed yesterday.
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”
~ Vincent Van Gogh ~
Surrounded by unknowable immensities,
I feel adrift. Daily life is
a mystery to unravel.
I am done in by distractions,
by fear,
by the need to accomplish
something that feels worthwhile.
But maybe I already have.
Maybe, like layers of sandstone,
actions accumulate,
small kindnesses
and moments of strength
so easily forgotten,
are preserved.
Maybe being brave, being present
is enough.
Maybe a life doesn’t have to be big
to be worthwhile.
Draft © Catherine Flynn, 2026
Please be sure to visit my fellow Inklings to discover how they approached this prompt:
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Mary Lee @ Another Year of Reading
Then stop in at Karen Edmisten’s blog for the Poetry Friday Roundup.
Reading to the Core 
I am struggling with this same line of thinking. Retirement has me daily wondering if I am doing enough. People say it gets easier. I love your conclusion, “Maybe a life doesn’t have to be big to be worthwhile.” I am trying to be present with this.
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It IS enough. I was just talking about this with my mom. She feels purpose-less. And we were talking…what if our purpose is to be present? xo
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I believe wholeheartedly that your “maybes” are enough, Catherine. Step by step one does reach the top! I like the idea of “the layers of sandstone”!
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Oh, that opening line: “Surrounded by unknowable immensities” … How we can all relate to that! But yes, it is enough to be present. When we look back, isn’t that what matters most?
Your opening quote from Van Gogh is great too.
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Yowsa…such a wonderful repetition of that, “maybe.” I think many, many people are feeling this. You’ve capture the mood of at least one generation. I love the idea of sandstone. Beautiful.
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Catherine, Your poem illustrates “the becoming” of a life — of being present, of creating, without ever using the word. Love this!
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This is such a beautiful poem! Your last stanza speaks to me. I think that you are exactly right. Being brave and present is enough. A big life isn’t what is required to make a meaningful one.
“Maybe being brave, being present
is enough.
Maybe a life doesn’t have to be big
to be worthwhile.”
Thank you for sharing this with us.
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Thank you for this, Catherine. Your last stanza is powerful. And I can relate to your opening line – “Surrounded by unknowable immensities, I feel adrift.”
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“The need to accomplish something worthwhile…” Boy, that is the challenge in our heads when we retire. After to-do lists and commitments, the absence of structure can be jarring at first. It takes time. I have found that retirement isn’t slowing down, its just that I can direct my energy to the things I love and enjoy like writing and friends. Beautiful poem and that last stanza should be posted on our refrigerators for a reminder 🙂
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Yes yes YES to the “sandstoning” of small moments and actions! It’s my way of life right now when all the big issues seem impossibly big.
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This is so beautiful, Catherine! I love the idea of layers of small actions being laid down over time, like sandstone. That’s some powerful imagery! What a tremendous response to the prompt.
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I so often feel that “I am done in by distractions,by fear, by the need to accomplish something that feels worthwhile.”And to conclude that moments of kindness and strength accumulate like sandstone and might be enough brings me hope. Thanks for this poem.
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