Poem: Time Bandit

An encounter while sitting still

Hi Friend,
This week I wrote a poem based on an encounter I had in the woods while sitting in my usual writing spot. For paid subscribers, I recorded a video there of me reading the poem and talking a bit about the experience that inspired it. You upgrading to a paid subscription is what makes it possible for me to keep doing this thing that I love, so thanks for your consideration.

Peace & Music,
Ben

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Time Bandit

Some days the wall between me
And my past
Is thick as the packed earth
Above a casket
Some days it is only
A wisp of morning fog
That dampens my cheeks
Before the rising sun can burn it away

Mostly I cry for what was
Not what could have been
My children, small and curious
Whirring bundles of neurons and
Pudgy, probing fingers
My marriage, hopeful, flexible, fierce
And unsinkable
Me, a box of fireworks
With no fuses

My antidote for time travel
Is a scrawny raccoon
Who stumbles upon me
Writing in the woods
As he’s headed home after a
Night of carousing

We’re both startled
I spill my tea
He stands and holds up his hands
A cornered bandit too tired
To do anything but surrender

Then a blue jay screeches
And the bandit slips away
Through the stinging nettles
Taking my past with him

Leaving me with a blinking cursor
And possibility

Field Notes

Sit still. That’s it. That’s my creative prompt for you this week.

I’ve been restless most of my life. The only reason I’ve completed so many things is because I have a freakish disorder that won’t let me rest otherwise. I’ve finished so many bad things that would have been best left unfinished.

Learning to sit still has made the most positive impact on the quality of my creative work and my mental health.

I would never have encountered this little raccoon had I not been sitting still. He didn’t think I was anything but a rock or a tree until he nearly bumped into me.

I would not have been able to write the resulting poem had I not continued to sit still.

So, if you want to get better at your creative work, try sitting still and see what sneaks up on you.

Join Me in the Comments

I’d love to hear what you think. Do you make a practice of slowing down? Is it a struggle to be still?

A Video Reading

Below you can check out the video I recorded from my little writing spot where I commune with the animals of midtown Atlanta.