Shh…the Inklings are getting ready to whisper secrets to you. Our challenge this month came from Catherine, who borrowed a prompt from a list Molly shared with us. Unlike the Go-Gos, our lips are NOT sealed — we’ve written poems about secrets.
To help us write about secrets, we had this poem, “Family Secret” by Nancy Kuhl to use as a mentor text.
“When in Doubt” by Sandra Cisneros showed up mid-month in the Poetry Unbound podcast, and it seemed to be in conversation with my poem, which was written to answer the stem which became the title.
Here’s how the rest of the Inklings met Catherine’s challenge:
Catherine @Reading to the Core
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche
Mr. Linky is ready for you to share your secrets/poems!
A(nother) Year of Reading 
“your body will continue to surprise you”
“memories can be landmines”
Phew.
Have you listened to Dani Shapiro’s podcast “Family Secrets?”
Thank you, Mary Lee, for this and for “When in Doubt” which I will share with our daughter who right now is always “collecting blessings from those who own nothing.”
Claude is grateful for your “clawed cloud Claude” comment. He really wants to meet Hem.
Thank you for hosting!
xo
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I love your beginning and ending mirrors, Mary Lee. Thanks for “When in Doubt” and also for hosting today.
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“memories can be landmines” so true. Thank you for your wonderful poem and for reminding how much I love the Go-Go’s. I look forward to reading the other “secrets” poems.
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After listening to the song and seeing the response to…I love this poem so much. There is a lot to savor. Healing done your way is my favorite. Thank you for hosting!
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Fascinating topic! “The secret is” a dose of poetry, regularly administered. “Your body will continue to surprise you” is a great (and wise) line. Thanks for hosting us!
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Phew, as Amy says. I feel like there’s so much that happens between “one sharp chef’s knife” and “your body will continue to surprise you.” Brava, Mary Lee. I’m glad to read the other poems you included, too.
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Love the gentle wisdom in your poem. First and last stanzas are so calming. Chef’s secrets in second stanza are my favorite. 🙂 Enjoyed “When In Doubt” and the Go-Gos too! Thanks for hosting this week!!
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“When in Doubt” such a powerful and deep poem, thanks for sharing it. Balance is a tricky one and can use the help of focus… And the shedding of shame another powerful act–take care in those landmines. Thanks for your intriguing poem Mary Lee!
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Thanks for the dose of Go-Gos and for Hosting too!
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Like Amy, I also loved the line “your body will continue to surprise you” – so true. Memories can, indeed, be landmines, as well. Very thoughtful. Thanks for hosting, Mary Lee.
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Mary Lee, so many fantastic lines in your poem full of secrets! Personally, I like “a dash of nutmeg.” Now I just have to figure out what to put it in! : ) Thank you for hosting!
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Try quiche, or stuffed shells!
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Oooo! I have never tried nutmeg in either of those!
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Mary Lee, I enjoyed listening to the GoGos. (It had been a long time.) Your poem is enthralling. I’ve read it several times. The second stanza just might be my favorite, and I learned “mise en place.” (A concept I knew of, but I hadn’t heard that French phrase before.) Thank you for hosting today, Mary Lee!
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Oh, I hear you! It takes a full year to heal. (And more.) Your secret is almost like snippets of an overheard coffee conversation. 🙂 Thank-you for hosting today. I’m back. Because playing with pics and poetry just does that.💕
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Yay! Welcome back!!
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Wow, Mary Lee. This feels like one of those poems I will come back to again and again and each time I do, I will feel or take something different from it.
Thanks for hosting this week!
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I printed the Cisneros poem for my wall! And, “Your body will continue to surprise you” is something I do know after all these years. When it speaks to me, I listen! Thanks for those wise words, Mary Lee, and for hosting!
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Mary Lee – your poem is enigmatic (like a secret!) – both thoughtful and thought-provoking. I agree with the idea of snippets of overheard conversations, and like other posters, this is one that I could read and reread, taking something new away from it each time.
I love the Cisneros poem – the refrain becomes a mantra by the time you reach the end of the poem.
Such a rich array of poetry for us to immerse ourselves in today. Thank you for hosting today, and for sharing so many wonderful poems with us!
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Oh! ‘Memories can be landmines’. This line says sooooo much to me. Thank you and thank you for hosting too.
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“Memories can be landmines.” Wow! There are all good lines in this poem, but this one really struck me.
Thanks for hosting!
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Your secrets are worth repeating, Mary Lee. 🙂
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Go ahead…tell all!
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Thanks for hosting, my friend, and for the range, the delicacy of this poem, the way it wallops us gently as we do the work of unfolding ourselves at the top of each stem.
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Secrets with a dash of nutmeg. Yes! Poems are great holders of secrets, aren’t they? Thank you for this, Mary Lee, and for the previous post which I’d missed and now have found and LOVE your line-y trees! xo
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This line: “memories can be landmines”. So honest and true. Thank you for sharing two mentor poems this week for me, I have saved them. I love the bookends of your poem.
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Tthank you for hosting, Mary Lee, and providing a powerful recipe for self-care. My post is not ready yet since my grandbaby was ill yesterday and I grandmasat. I am going back there today.
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Thank you for hosting and sharing your secrets! (My body can quit surprising me any time.) Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
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I loved Cisneros’ WHEN IN DOUBT – and how your “The Secret Is” mirrors it. Esp love the echo of beginning and ending.
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Ooh, what a mysterious-feeling and wise poem. Each line…My body has thrown some unwelcome surprises at me lately. So, um, I would like better ones :>D I love your opening and closing, which make this feel like a meditation, a lovely one.
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The way you structured your poem is like a balancing act in itself! I agree with what Kat said about your poem feeling like overheard snippets of conversation, which really amps up the secret aspect of it. The landmine of memories is so real, and I think I had a visceral reaction to that line. Thanks for hosting this week and for sharing your powerful response to the prompt!
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Well, I love this! I had to stop and consider, and agree with each of your secrets. Now I will have to write my own. Thanks for this. Today I’m at “mise en place” and a sharp chef’s knife, but soon a dash of nutmeg. ;0)
I saw six bluejays in my yard and I’m sussing out that secret also! Best to you…
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Thank you for hosting this week, Mary Lee, and for sharing that fun Go-Go’s video! Your words carry such profound truths: some “memories can be landmines,” and yet we continue to unwind them over and over again.
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