The muse likes a dook
Britannica defines divination as an attempt to transcend the ordinary in order to understand more about the world around us. I like the idea that curiosity can be a spiritual act.
I have always been curious. It is like an itch at the back of my brain. I am the person who would press the big red button that ends the world simply because it says, “Do Not Touch”, and who follows roads because they look interesting.
This leads me neatly to swimming. I love the freedom water gives me: the way it washes away a difficult shift, or carries me into the slipstream of a landing swan. I love the companionship of fellow swimmers and the knowledge we share about good dooking spots, changing conditions and keeping one another safe.
Swimming transcends the mundane. It soothes the itch long enough for me to think clearly.
“I’ve had an idea” is a phrase I have been known to announce from time to time. It has led to some interesting situations, and to parts of the world that had been hidden suddenly appearing with a small ta-da. There is usually an inward groan before the idea begins to germinate, but by then it is already too late.
Swimming helped shape this project and its writing: cold water, friendship, and ideas forming while I float in the sun. The muse likes a dook. Sometimes a line or two lands in my head and insists that I sit down and write.
It was through this process that Family Feelings came into being: a poetry collection for children, filled with the movement of emotion. The poems are gathered into three families—Big Feelings, Quiet Feelings and Hard Feelings.
The manuscript is now ready for its next adventure, and I am looking for junior editors to help me see it through a child’s eyes.
I will provide the manuscript, pencils and a guide for parents or carers. The children can suggest edits, respond to the poems or create artwork inspired by them. With permission, their contributions may become part of the finished book, and everyone who takes part will receive a signed copy as a thank-you.
To introduce the collection, here is Happy, a member of the Big Feelings family.
Happy
Happy is ice cream with sprinkles and sauce,
hands that are sticky,
splodges on tops,
giggles in tummies and wriggles in toes,
shouting and singing
and laughing at jokes,
holding a hand that is bigger than yours,
and knowing your grown-up feels happy too.
