From a young age, I loved hearing language: the repetition of nursery rhymes, poems by Robert Louis Stevenson, Joyce Kilmer, William Blake, Lewis Carroll. I even looked forward to hearing my elementary school teachers read psalms from the Old Testament. Later in the day, I’d grab a phone directory, and read my memorized psalm aloud imitating the teacher’s formal intonation.
I began to write poems as a young teen. Writing was a way to process feelings about love, loss, death, time, and all the overwhelming feelings that flood the consciousness of powerless children. I included many of these teen poems in this collection. They demonstrate how I used words to both help myself therapeutically and to play with them.
I continued to write through different periods of my life. Much of the writing is autobiographical. It draws from my roles as daughter, sister, lover, mother, friend, traveler, teacher and therapist.
I have always felt more inspired while I move. I love to think and jot notes while walking. I carry pads of paper and pens to scribble poems and stuff them into my pockets.
I have always loved pockets,….
A place to rest my fingers?
Hold small things?
Extend my boundaries?
Or just the joy of stowing paper, pen
to jot down notes on a moment’s whim?
From Pockets
Lynn Benjamin
April 8, 2021
By extension, when traveling, I called the usually short poems pocket poem postcards. They are little descriptions or observations of places I visit, things I perceive, or sensory reactions.
Although I have written since adolescence, it’s only now in retirement from my last career as a marriage and family therapist that I have the time to dedicate myself to the passion of writing.
I try to distance myself from politics, but sometimes I do get drawn in. Then I am compelled to write just to clear my head.
Back in June 2021, I was stricken by the devastating thought that it was possible to suddenly lose memory, sight, hearing, taste, smell. I wrote five short pocket poems (a kind of verbal pentaptych) on what I’d miss the most if the world were devoid of sensory stimulation. In the fifth pocket poem, I consider losing my recall:
If suddenly the world went blank,
I know I’d be depressed,
But I would tuck inside a pocket,
memories I possessed.
From If Suddenly the World Went Blank
Pentaptych Poem # 5
Lynn Benjamin
June 9, 2021
So, I present to you, kind readers, pocket poems that span over six decades. Open your eyes, ears, noses, mouths, minds, and sixth senses to share these stories with me. Let your thoughts wander to your own life stories. If you feel inspired, write your own musings to share with others. I appreciate the time you spend with me. I honor your stories, dreams, observations, perspectives. Be with me and let me be with you.
Love and joy,
Lynn Benjamin
November 29, 2022