How A Prayer Birthed the Ladybug
An observation on tiny beetles, poetry, and my Stafford Challenge failure.
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Now, onto today’s work.
William Stafford, The Holy Virgin, and the Lady’s Bug
January 9, 2024, 7:35 AM:
In the beginning,
typed a text message with a hyperlink. The link was to the “Stafford Challenge,” in which participants were to commit to writing a poem every day for a year, beginning January 17th.My reply: “I won’t do it unless you do.”
January 9, 2024, 5:17 PM:
January 17 — January 23, 2024:
It is said that William Stafford wrote a poem a day, rain or shine, in good times and bad, through sickness and health, till death did he part. This explains, I suppose, why the Kansas native’s pen was so sharp. His observational eye was honed over a lifetime of practice. And his lines? They’re still some of my favorites.
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