Rekindling the Flame

Photo from the Public Domain

Every now and then, anyone can have a tough year—personally, professionally, or health-wise.  But, when friends and family rally around us with their support and love, the unbearable becomes tolerable. Our chances for recovery magnify.

And many of us have “been there” for others, whether it’s by phone, Skype, mail, or being physically present. We offer a kind or encouraging word, share useful information, help with necessary tasks, or just stay near. These actions give comfort and bolster feelings of well-being. They restore confidence and lift depression.

Humans are wired to help those in need. We look at our skills and abilities. Then we do what we can. We’ve all been there --encouraging, supporting, instilling hope, sometimes taking the situation in hand.

Everyone’s been on the receiving end at one time or another. Friends and family, colleagues, and sometimes strangers, extended a hand and rekindled our flames. The humanity comes out in every one of us, and we realize we’re all in this life together. For this we are grateful.

Photo by geralt (2016) via Pixabay, CC0 Public Domain.

This Week’s Prompt

Free write about a time when another person stepped up to rekindle your flame. OR, when you were the person who helped revitalize a friend’s, family member’s, or an acquaintance’s spark. OR, maybe you reignited your own fire.

What was the situation? What were you feeling? Who else was involved? How did the renewal happen? What difference was made? How did you feel once the episode was over?

1)      Let your writing sit for a few hours or overnight.

2)      Read it over and highlight or circle words or phrases that strike you.

3)      Use some of those words to guide your poem. Your poem could turn out to be an ode. (See Shadow Poetry.)

Word Bank Prompt

desperate

hopeful

down and out

rejuvenate

revive

gratitude

Quote Prompt

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”  -- Albert Schweitzer

Share your website or your poem in the Comments section below and/or in the Facebook group Poets on the Page. On social media, use #PoetsOnThePage.

Poetry Book Highlight

            Counting Descent by Clint Smith

From Amazon.com:

Winner, 2017 Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary Award
Finalist, 2017 NAACP Image Awards
'One Book One New Orleans' 2017 Book Selection

---

Clint Smith's debut poetry collection, Counting Descent, is a coming of age story that seeks to complicate our conception of lineage and tradition. Smith explores the cognitive dissonance that results from belonging to a community that unapologetically celebrates black humanity while living in a world that often renders blackness a caricature of fear. His poems move fluidly across personal and political histories, all the while reflecting on the social construction of our lived experiences. Smith brings the reader on a powerful journey forcing us to reflect on all that we learn growing up, and all that we seek to unlearn moving forward.

See Clint Smith reading his poem "Counting Descent" for Poetry in America. 

Annis Cassells is a writer, poet, life coach, and teacher.  She divides her time between Bakersfield, California and Coos Bay, Oregon. She is a member of Writers of Kern, a branch of the California Writers Club. See Annis’s blogs at www.thedaymaker.blogspot.com and www.poemsbyannis.blogspot.com and her website at www.connectionsandconversations.com