Last Saturday, I listened to Andre Gregory of My Dinner With Andre fame on the Moth Radio Hour. He speaks of his first love. Of embracing firsts, because nothing can match the intensity of a first. His story is perfection.
We ask our students to write about firsts. It’s a gathering strategy that results in lots of the first day of school and first scary amusement park ride small moment stories. I’ve used this with students, but never for myself.
Today as a part of the Slice of Life Story Challenge, I dared to try a first.
Prose was overwhelming. My descriptive powers were too weak; the intensity of the moment too big. Perhaps it was that I wanted it to remain in that mythical land of “firsts.”
Poetry surfaced and took me on a different path.
String the Firsts
Day of Kindergarten. Graduation.
Kiss. Breakup.
Exploring on you own. Finding your home.
Embrace. Release.
Bitter and sweet.
Euphoria and panic.
Possibility and promise.
String the firsts.
Unforgettable, side by side.
Golden moments held out.
Or,
is it in the moments,
in the filament,
in between.
String the firsts.
Thanks to Anna, Beth, Betsy, Dana, Stacey and Tara of Two Writing Teachers blog for hosting the Slice of Life March Story Challenge. Read other bloggers slices here.
To Read To Write To Be 