Fun with Mail: PoPo 2020

 It's September, which means that August Poetry Postcard Festival (PoPo) is officially over. Of course, PoPo is never truly over, because the poetry friends you've made in years past who weren't in your group can always pop into your mailbox with a bonus card, but I think I'm ready to do this year's wrap-up. Registration is already open for 2021; if you've ever wanted a mailbox full of cool poetry and fun postcards, do yourself a favor and sign up.

Behold, this year's haul:

That's a lovely bunch of postcards, some purchased, some made. There are some lovely poems on the back, too, but per the community rules, I can't share those. I can share some of my poems, though.

My process this year was a little different than usual. For one thing, I took the plunge and created some of my own postcards. I am no artist, but I had fun pretending.

First, I experimented with mandalas using gel pens and markers. Here are the six of those:

Next, I branched out into collage, which is much harder than I thought it would be. For the text, I have a battered copy of Great Expectations that I'd bought at Half Price Books some years ago for craft projects. The rest is a combination of paints, scrapbook paper, and stickers.

Finally, I got really brave. I love watching Facebook art videos, especially Deepak's Art. He does pastels, beautiful pastels. I have never touched a pastel. And, yet, I really wanted to try. The results were...slightly unembarrassing. But I had fun. 

As I said, slightly unembarrassing. The bird looks like it should have broken the branch long ago and plunged an enormous crater into the ground. The tree looks like it is surviving a plague of acid fish rain through self-immolation. The poor butterfly weeds are watching some birds fly into a nuclear explosion. But, it was fun, and I apologize to all the recipients of my artistic endeavors. My mother, of course, says it's all "folk art" and I should be proud of them. This is why children never believe their mothers. 

As to my poetry process, I took a different tack this year. Usually, I let the postcard inspire me. This year, I was mentally drained from the many, many hours of overtime I've had to put in at work and the stress of numerous personal and family challenges. Frankly, I was afraid I didn't have it in me to write a poem. I hadn't done a bit of creative writing since January. 

So I decided to give myself a different challenge. Every day, I drew a tarot card, and wrote from that, which freed me from the postcard imagery. There were some definite themes in my tarot card draws, which led to some repetitive imagery, but overall, it was easier to write this way, this year. 

Some of my favorites:

August 4, 2020--Two of Cups

Surfacing into the sunlight,

the world is brighter,

just a quick breath,

     a call, a message,

           a promise,

that one day,

      maybe soon,

these closed worlds

we occupy will open,

spiral outward,

     intersect, merge.

August 5, 2020--Nine of Cups

Returning home—the place—

can be the journey

of minutes or years—

a walk up the drive,

ten years of wandering.

 

And then you begin again

because returning home

—to yourself—

is the true test,

    to know what lies

         at the center

                and welcome it home.

August 16, 2020--Five of Swords

All the gilded cathedrals

we build, the heavy stones

and chiseled saints,

imbued with iconography,

will, someday, crumble,

or be dismantled,

    stone by stone,

holy relics uncovered,

   scattered, exposed

to the same bright sky

       that was always there. 

August 30, 2020--Four of Wands

Turn on the porch light,

   the candlelight,

        the fire light,

or step outside in damp grass

and walk through the flicker

of fireflies, trusting

the path we’re on

   leads somewhere good.