In celebration of National Poetry Month, I am inviting several poet friends to join me in my daily endeavor of paying poetic attention to the world. This week I am sharing the practice with my dear friend Maya Stein, poet of The Creativity Caravan. Maya is one of the most generous writers/teachers/humans I know. Follow her on Instagram at @mayastein, and check out her #100day project for daily doses of wit and inspiration.

when i asked you to keep going
i did not mean you should not rest
or listen to the wisdom
of the back space.
.
anyone who sews will tell you,
the running stitch might cover ground,
the persistence of its in and out
and ever forward an ode to enduring,
but it’s the humble, invisible back stitch,
that pause and reach into the space behind,
that keeps you from unraveling,
that keeps your work from coming apart.

photo and poem by katherine ferrier ©2017

What will you make
in the name of beauty?
What holy war will the soldier of your heart
wage for the sake of the earth?
What ransom will you save
for love’s extravagant payment?
I don’t want anything I do
to stink of falsehood.
I don’t want to slice the truth
in two. If this is the bed of the world,
I never want
to go to sleep again.

photo and poem by Maya Stein ©2017