Today’s post comes as part of Two Writing Teachers’ Slice of Life Tuesday. Give them a peek!
I can’t lie. I’m…a little under water right now. There are lots of moles to whack in my personal and professional life and don’t get me wrong. I’m doing it. I’m doing the thing! Still, I couldn’t help but think of this poem I wrote a while back. I think it holds true in its insistence on grace and self-forgiveness. Enjoy.
Priorities
Sometimes when I shower, I
(full of distractions) grip the soap
Too tightly, and
It pops right out of my hand.
I used to
Reach for it blindly,
Block it with my elbow,
Slow it down with my knee,
All to keep it from
Hitting the shower floor;
A valiant effort
That many times worked. Until
One morning, my distracted self once again
Grabbed the soap.
As it slipped through my hands,
Time
Slowed
Down
And I thought
Well, maybe.
Maybe it would be okay this time
And no one would be hurt
And no one would get angry
And heroics look silly anyway
And I maybe could just
Let
It
Fall.
Soapbox: The Way I see Things 
Thanks for sharing this! “Letting it fall” has always been anathema for me, like you. Your soap metaphor makes me think about aging and the idea that sometimes letting the soap fall is safer for my well-being than shower-acrobatics to pick it up, that, “Maybe it would be okay this time/and no one would be hurt,” might actually be truest for me.
Wonderful. The idea of letting go helps us so many times. And I liked the way you connected a daily routine with something so thought provoking.
Simply divine, the letting it fall. I love everything about this – from the tight grab in the midst of distractions to the thought of letting it fall where it may. The analogy to life and our grabbing at things that may be better left uncaught is liberating.
This brings to mind a line in a song from the musical “Jekyll and Hyde, :the hardest part is letting go.” We have a feeling that we must always be organized and in control. Life isn’t like that. We are constantly being thrown curves. We need to give ourselves permission to let things fall where they may.
Letting it fall! Yes! Sometimes things work out when we just let go.
I like this as a metaphor for self-forgiveness, and I will remember it, but it also reminds me that there are those amazing (and rare) days when you make the miracle grab and almost wish someone knew.
I always enjoy your poems! I hope you can let some things fall and feel peace.
It’s okay to let the soap fall occasionally. You can always pick it back up. The real danger is slipping on that fallen soap. BTW, I love the poem and its extended metaphor.
Letting things go…difficult but as I get older to see that we can’t do it all and do anything well. I wrote a post about letting go of those expectations. I’m feeling a similar strain right now.