Taking a Leap Into Love

February is a strange month. It’s the last month of winter, bringing with its end hope of spring with lighter evenings and early daffodils springing up on verges. But the weather is still terrible and so despite these little signs of warmer seasons, we are still entrenched in the cold and the rain. Maybe that’s why its star signs are Pisces and Aquarius; everyone walks around soggy and walkways become accessible only by boat! However it is also a month of surprises and opportunity. I am writing this on the 29th February, a date that jumps out on us when it appears on the calendar every 4 years, a day whose name invites us to take leaps of faith and defy convention.

It is also a month where we celebrate (or not) Valentines Day and so February’s workshops were built around the theme of love. Our pens went in all sorts of directions: self love, love of nature, parental love, love of community and in some cases, heartbreak and unrequited love. I always try and join in with the workshops, so while the participants are furiously scribbling away, I let my mind wander. I’m lucky in love. I have been with my wonderful husband for 21 years and my two children drown me in love on a daily basis. When you’re with someone for so long, especially in our case, since we were teenagers, you grow up together, you watch the other person change and develop so the people you are later in the relationship, are different versions of the two people who fell in love. It’s metamorphosis that under the right conditions can create the most beautiful love story. I was lucky enough to have my poem 'Walking Home in the Rain' featured on BBC Upload this month, which explores young love in all of its tumultuous richness. It captures the moment the two lovers fall in love and is a semi-autobiographical exploration of the many times my future husband walked me home at 3am because I wasn’t allowed to stay over his parents’ house. You can listen to the recording here.

During the workshop we read two poems which focused on little acts of love: She Ties my Bow by Gabrielle Calvocoressi and Tea by Carol Ann Duffy. The former describes the act of a woman tying her lover’s bow tie, and equates it to wild, cavernous acts of nature which the speaker believes could be confused for his lover’s deft fingers. In the second, the speaker describes the process of making a cup of tea for someone you love, focusing on how seemingly unimportant acts can feel extraordinary when in love. Using these poems to springboard our ideas, participants came up with lists of their own small acts of love, or ordinary acts that feel extraordinary in the moment and the directions the writers took were inspiring. I took the small act of a child handing a parent a little crushed daisy and we then developed these acts to create 100 word love stories, inspired by the New York Times’ ‘Tiny Love Stories’. From this I created the following poem, 'Flowers', a finished piece that reveals the beauty of the writing process; taking and developing a small idea and growing it into something with structure, purpose and deep emotion:

Flowers

You bought me roses the other day

And although you saw gratitude

Reflected in my tired eyes

And watched as I arranged them

Carefully in the vase I use for

Occasions like these

I know you yearned for the

Look I give our child

when he runs over,

Crushed daisy petals

Stained purple with sweat

In his tiny hands and places

Them gently into my

Outstretched palm.

Our time will come again –

Petals will shower your back

As I fling arms around your neck

Full of love for the man who

Still perseveres with roses.

With this in mind, this month’s writing prompt is to take the ideas in the poems included in this blog and write your own piece that explores a small act of love. Start with a list of small acts of love and grow it into something which either explores that act in detail, or spread your metaphorical wings and equate it to a much larger concept. Write for 5-10 minutes (or longer if you feel like it) and don’t think too hard. I’d love to see your creations and you can post them on my instagram page @words_and_wine_ashford

Finally I want to take this opportunity to express my unending love for the writing community I am part of who have encouraged me, given me feedback and attended my workshops with rawness and open hearts. This month was all yours.