A hand reaches out through the cold, a voice warmly asks – are you okay?
Definitely, more of this, please. Now, try this: write your own More Of This, Please poem.
Please, may the ground of our connection be kindness and generosity. Avec amour, Krayna

More Of This, Please
In grad school I had a writing teacher who’d completely cream my essays.
Cross-outs and tracked changes. He took me at my word
when I said I wanted to get better. But when he liked something,
he’d point to what was working: More of this, please.
Did I mention he was British? This is important because lately,
whenever something is really working, I tend to think to myself,
in a British accent: More of this, please. A lunch date turned dinner date
with a dreamboat who is slightly embarrassed his eyes water in cold weather.
Him looking like he’s tearing up at Shake Shack. More of this, please.
A toddler turning to me at the park holding her hair tie, asking me
to fix her ponytail. Her grandmother nodding to go right ahead, my hands
collecting wisps of yellow. More of this, please.
Cough-drop wrappers that say, Bet on Yourself. Pop-up concerts in the city.
Stevie Wonder playing Songs in the Key of Life at 10 AM on a Monday,
hundreds of people stopping mid-commute in button-ups and blazers
belting out every word to “Sir Duke” and “Isn’t She Lovely,” saying, “My boss
is just going to have to understand!” …..
An editor saying, “I’ll pass this on,” instead of, “I’ll pass on this.”
A stranger falling asleep on my shoulder for several stops. Staring at dates
in authors’ bios: Ruth Stone, 1915–2011. Larry Levis, 1946–1996.
Recommitting to living as much as I can. Realizing the dash between the year
you’re born and the year you die is smaller than your smallest fingernail.
It’s smaller than a strand of saffron in a bottle the size of a thimble
in the spice shop across the street. 

 

By Emily Sernaker, excerpt; found in The Sun magazine, April 2022.
Copyrighted material; for non-profit purposes only. 

Image: From the cover of Amy Poehler’s book, 7 Life Lessons from Amy Poehler.