7 Comments
User's avatar
Write With Spike's avatar

I said it before and I’ll say it again. Truly one of the most incredible pieces of writing I have ever read. Thank you for writing it. Thank you for surviving it to write it!

Expand full comment
Michelle Marie Engelman Berns's avatar

Spike! I so appreciate the comment!

The beauty for me in my writing, is I create and then extend my hand to let a Poem have its flight and a life of its own.

Cemented in time and space it lives outside my body, but inside the part of me that grows stronger having set the poem free.

My grief has a profound and special place in the world of my soul, and the vulnerability that comes in sharing my Poetry sometimes means people may perceive I’m haunted or stuck in the mire of what I write about.

It feels quite the opposite for me, like the freedom to write creatively as well as autobiographically is a well honed shovel of understanding.

You have set quite a fire in me with your comment and I do not take it lightly; I am deeply deeply grateful for you and your support.

Expand full comment
Michelle Marie Engelman Berns's avatar

Spike! I am uber grateful for you, your world and your words.

Someday I’ll four how I can do a retreat up at the farm; you are inspiring beyond belief! ❤️😎

I’m glad I’m here too. 🫶🏻

Expand full comment
Paulla Rich Estes (she/her)'s avatar

As someone with a lifelong dread of tornadoes and an acute understanding of being raised by adults who didn’t see children as people, this story resonates to my very core. Thank you 🙏🏻

Expand full comment
Michelle Marie Engelman Berns's avatar

Oh Paula, I so thank you for the read and my heart sits alongside yours. I also acknowledge that my tornado experience was a mere brush; the parents continued the devastation.

Also my takeaway after reading your comment ; to tend more towards looking out for tornadoes (et al) instead looking for them.

Expand full comment
Tracy Owens's avatar

Oh, I absolutely love this!

Expand full comment
Michelle Marie Engelman Berns's avatar

Thanks Tracy! And I definitely enjoyed your Palm Royale piece! Spot on! 🌴🍹WITH LITTLE UMBRELLA PLEASE.

Expand full comment