O round, cool face of forever

float free

for me

Saucer without a teacup

without the tyranny

of tea

Owl eye without a pupil

blind

to contradiction

My white balloon

has lost its string

and me

Round, open mouth

of the goddess

of light

The night sky’s

exclamation:

Oh!

Puppeteer

of tides,

rock the shore of the world

Bright Frisbee

the dog star lost

in the night

Perfect pearl

crown of cornfields

and night watchmen’s hair

Bellybutton

of God

By: Pat Schneider, Writing Alone and with others, Oxford Univ.Press, 2003.

I have truly adored this poem since the first time I read it - the descriptions are exquisite and everything about it is full of unselfconscious whimsy and joy. I’ve been a huge fan of Pat Schneider’s work for years now and when I originally emailed her directly to ask permission to eventually put this on the blog, she was supremely gracious and we began a brief bit of back and forth correspondence which was absolutely thrilling to me.

I treasure her sharing these snippets about her life and I’ve re-read this particular one (extracted here) many, many times:

Sadly, very sadly, I learned that Pat passed away last summer. I’m so grateful that I got to know her personally, however slightly - I hope she knew what a difference she made to so many writers’ lives and certainly to my own. I deeply regret not discovering her sooner than I did.

It’s unusual to find theology, literature, the aging process, honest self-disclosure and earthy, common sense woven alongside highly practical writing exercises, but this is exactly what Pat achieves in Writing Alone and with others.

This is a link to an excellent interview with her on her website.

It’s so poignant and worthwhile - do make a cup of tea and listen:

My Interview on Aging with Tara Backes for her “Ageless Women” series