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Labyrinth
Left, right, left
Around and
Back
Your eyes on the path
Rhythm of steps matching breaths
In, out, in
Now the curves
Tighten and you find yourself
Here
(c) Mary Lee Hahn, 2025 draft
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I didn’t write much this week, between horror of the world burning down (both literally and figuratively), the joy of TWO snow days, and the sorrow of all the goodbyes for Jimmy Carter.
I dropped this image into a blank post yesterday evening after getting a little lost (somewhat like my poem, actually) in the newly released Public Domain Image Archive. Inspired this morning by Margaret and her students, I leaned into our old friend the acrostic. Like her post title declares, “Sometimes Acrostic Form Works!”
Kat Apel has this week’s Poetry Friday roundup all the way from Australia! No snow days there right now!
A(nother) Year of Reading 
Wait, what? Public Domain Image Archive? I can’t wait to see that! Thank you Mary Lee. Your poem is a perfect match for the image and for where we are in the this particular moment.
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Your acrostic perfectly describes the labyrinth. Thanks for the link to the public domain image archive. I’ll be checking it out!
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Oooooh those last two lines struck gold. Love this! Thank you for sharing.
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Mary Lee, I enjoyed how your poem guides us through the dizzying maze! A perfect companion to “Sheperd’s Race,” and the acrostic form seems so appropriate for this very visual topic.
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I actually tried to follow from the entry point, stuck on one end, then, I found myself, delightedly, here at your post : )! Keep cozy with all that snow, Mary Lee!
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Well, this poem is a delight! I love that you ended up… Here!
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When we were walking around a neighborhood in Portland, I saw a labyrinth and wanted to walk it. Such a wonderful ancient spiritual tool. I think the poem could end (if it weren’t an acrostic) on yourself.
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Ahhhh….I love a well written acrostic. This one is a lovely accompaniment to the image and I especially enjoyed the rhythm and internal rhyme of the line “rhythm of steps matching breaths”. Well done! Enjoy the snow days (she said wistfully from snow-barren Maine!).
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Ha! I didn’t even realize it was an acrostic until reading to the end of your post. I had four snow days, a delayed opening and all I could do last night after watching the news was go to sleep…and then slept in. I’m not sure if I’m hibernating, avoiding the world in crisis or all of the above. I adore public domain images. They are great prompts! This is a wonderful, short commentary. Love it!
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Mary Lee, I’ve been highly distractable this week too and found myself staring at the labyrinth image until it appeared to be moving and I felt dizzy (much like watching the news this week.) Thanks for sharing this moment of creativity.
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I usually walk a labyrinth on New Year’s, but I didn’t this year…I missed it and am going a.s.a.p. It feels like I really need to find out what I’m thinking, haha! (Yay for public domain pictures!)
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I love the contrast of the straight line of your poem with the round zigzagginess of the labyrinth too. Marvelous.
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You not only leaned in, you circled, curved, and tightened. I was not lost at all in your poetry. Thank you!
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Loving the mindfulness of the labyrinth and how you so aptly described it. Acrostics were a favorite form of mine to use with students. Thanks for sharing. I hope this coming week is better.
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Handsome image you found Mary Lee, reminds me of Australian Aboriginal artwork and so mesmerizing. Your acrostic poem works well with it and with the unfolding, relentless events of the week, thanks.
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