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I'M OPEN by Leslie Caplan

 I wrote this poem last week. I was sitting with a writing friend in a local cafe', we took out our pens and gave each other random prompts…

Her prompt for me was "I'm open." This is what came spilling out in a timed 10-minute stream.  I didn't have any forethought of what I would write. I wasn't particularly percolating anything inside of me that day.  Often when I write, I don't know what comes out until it's finished and I read it out loud. I go into kind of a trance, move aside, and let the part of me that has access to myself so deeply, come forward.

This was the case with this poem. When I read it, I am more revealed to myself. I learn about the parts of me that long, are nostalgic, and that even when I ebb and flow, I rest somewhere in the 'in between'. This piece of writing speaks to both the mystic and the human being. It passes through hemispheres and lands on the earth. It's one of my favorite pieces. It follows a course, takes me on a journey and lands me in my belonging. This is what writing does for me. Thank you for taking the time to read it. 

I’m Open
by Leslie Caplan

I'm open as I close 
and contract
huddling into the swell of moon
and release of fall
where the death of things

is beautifully eerie 
and lush

until it becomes 
barren

with an exquisiteness 
of its own
I'm open
to being here
to letting go of things 
I wish I could remember 
and capture like
they belong to me
the memories, the bounty of my
budding womanhood
in the verdant mazes of grain
laying down with the horizon
in a bed of seeds to harvest
I'm open
and I miss certain things
that will never be again
The poetry of my young mothering
in a primeval forested temple 
where gongs and baritone bells 
thrummed my heart open
and changed my eyes
deepened their light
their ebony carved tears
that lead me there in the first place
I stay open
to a love that was,
a love that was born winged
and perched inside my soul until
a wind came through me
and asked that all things rooted
take flight
I was born into sky
the rippling thunder of blue and lavender 
just before rainfall
The scent of strength breathing my lungs open
and willing
to belong
to not belong
To be someone that lives
in the in-between
To rock and sway and move with
the elements of all that has brought me here
to this planet
to this unfolding
I am open
A turning into pages
of a book being written
etched with words that
sing in a language 
no one may understand
until I reveal their colors 
in the barefooted walk of my landing
here
open
changed
solid
and still
in the breath of all I have
come to know.



Leslie Caplan is a passionate writer and has been published internationally. She is a professional Writing Coach and editor who encourages and evokes the strongest, deepest expression of the writer's voice and heart.  She also facilitates writing workshops where writing is used as a tool for revealing and healing.  She lives in the small town of Ashland, Oregon and you can connect with her on her website here. 





~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~

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