A while back I was treated to the pleasure of a visit from a friend I rarely get to see. She’s known me nearly all of my life. Although we aren’t the best at staying in touch with each other sometimes, I always smile when I see her name on my Caller ID no matter what kind of day I’m having.

This last visit she handed me two books and I was surprised to find out she’d published some of her poetry. I knew she was creative, I still have a battered and well-loved copy of a story she wrote and gave me when I was child, but it wasn’t something we talked about regularly so I had a brief moment of “oh, wow!” surprise. Then she showed me a poem she wrote about my Mom… I took a moment and read it, but tears quickly started coming and I pretty much closed the book immediately and turned the conversation to other things. Not that I didn’t want to read it or feel those emotions, but I didn’t want them to color the few hours we had to enjoy each other face to face.

I set the books aside for a few days, but then I fell into a sort of routine. Most days it takes me a while to get my brain up-and-running (no jokes please!) after I get out of bed, and so I would pick a page at random and read a poem while I sipped my tea. A few minutes of total focus every morning on one poem would help get my brain up and running, creative juices flowing, and in that ‘not quite all the way awake’ state I think I could really feel the emotions in each poem more than I would be able to if I was reading later in the day. Instead of focusing on what to cook for dinner or whatever items on my “to do” list were (or weren’t) going to get done. I stretched this out, treasuring each page and not allowing myself to consume them all in one sitting.

I love Susie as a person because she’s wonderful. I’m also a fan of her work, and those are two separate things. Susie has a special gift, she can really convey emotion in very few words. That’s something I’ve found very few people are able to do. At times I laughed out loud or felt tears in my eyes reading her words. She’s so talented. I will treasure these books.

Open Door by Susan Weinstein can be ordered here and Tertiary Colors: A Kaleidoscope of Poetry by June Gerron, Susan Weinstein, and Mimi Whittaker can be ordered here.