a Writer’s reTreat (audio)

On By Michele LeeIn Audio, Dreams, Verse, writing
Enveloping clouds, across stretched miles –
unseen landmarks and draped blue skies.
Tired of staring into the smothering gray.
Tired of straining to see what lies beyond
a cloak that confuses night with day.

She let her heavy lids end the seeking.
She filled her lungs: slow, steady, and deep.
Exhaling tangled tension and rooted stress.
A few more times releasing a masked breathe –
she felt her mind ease and her body rest.

Through invisible cracks and open vents,
clouds-turned-fairy-chariots found a way in.
Heaven sent and hope-kissed crystal droplets
swirled around her relaxed and resting frame,
wrapping her in protection; sleep finally came.

A male voice entered her sweet dreams…

Hello ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking.
We are about to begin our descent
toward Denver International Airport.
The current weather in Denver is 65 degrees F.,
with winds at 6 mph from the west.
We will be landing on runway 17 left.
We know you have a choice in your travel,
so on behalf of me and the entire crew,
we thank you for choosing American Airlines.
Flight attendants, prepare for landing.

A voice so calming, she may still be dreaming.

The landing jumped, bumped, and tossed a bit,
waking her and disturbing her angelic blanket,
sending it in fragments toward the nearest exit.
She watched the sparkling droplets scurry away,
convinced one turned back, winked, then waved.

The first leg of her magical journey now complete.
Traveling upward then inward. Finding her beat.
New places to explore, both in and around her.
Surrendered expectations of what might transpire
in her vast mind, on the page, or in the tall pines.

Delighted she was, to have finally arrived.

In a rental car, she and her laptop did ascend,
85 miles into the Rocky Mountain wilderness.
iPhone connected, tunes lifted, crisp air ingested,
pushed by a rising moon and toward a setting sun,
knowing her Writing reTreat had just begun.

I am ready to travel. Is that obvious? 😂 I know I am not alone in this. Fortunately, Sammi Lee and I have a trip planned soon. I am excited to catch up with Miss Artist. 🎨 My “Writer’s reTreat” poem is a dream, but I did find a writers retreat in the Rocky Mountains later this year that I am looking into, so perhaps this scene will be a premonition poem, not just fantasy.

In other writerly news… Just before the pandemic interrupted our lives, I was assisting Sandra Marinella, author of The Story You Need to Tell, with in-person writing classes at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. The Mayo classes were put on pause last spring due to Covid concerns. We have remained busy with online workshops through other venues, but have missed the special connections made through Mayo, where Sandra has built an impactful program. I am delighted to share that the Mayo Clinic has added writing workshops back to their integrative health offerings, now offered online. These classes offer a safe writing space and community for people who may be dealing with serious health challenges. It is an honor to work with Sandra and other writers, through Mayo and other forums. 💻

A heartfelt thank you to Ingrid at Experiments in Fiction for writing online reviews for my poetry collections. She is both brilliant and kind. ✨Thank you for visiting and listening. Be well. 💗 Michele

Photo 1: Goldwater Lake, Prescott, AZ, my image Photo 2: me 🤠

© 2021 Michele Lee Sefton.

73 thoughts on “a Writer’s reTreat (audio)”

    1. You should! I have been searching off and on for several months, and am finally starting to see some in-person. 😄 Doing another Zoom class does not sound like a “retreat.” 😞 I absolutely agree with you. We could all use some soul inspiration. 💖

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    1. Thank you. 🙏🏻 I do understand the hesitations and fears. I did travel last fall to see my daughter, who was attending university. I was nervous, but ten months of not seeing her was too long. I just took all necessary precautions. The same precautions that I am sure will be in place for some time. BTW, my daughter completed her degree. Yay! Sadly, no in-person ceremony. Oh well, she did it! 😄

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  5. This was so dreamy Michele: I too long to travel! I hope you get your writer’s retreat soon 🥰 well done for the wonderful work you do, and thanks once again for the shout out!

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    1. Absolutely. A Mark Twain quote about travel hangs on the wall beside my desk. It reads, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” It made my students think. 🤔 I have always had an affinity for birds – to be free and see what they see. 💓 Thank you. It was actually a cool day in Northern AZ when I took that photo of the tall pines. 😄

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  7. Thank you for sharing this delightful dream retreat, dear Michele ~ your presentation was a pleasure to read 😍 as I joyfully imagined a peaceful Rocky Mountain adventure into nature, guided by a lovely lady in a cowgirl hat 😉 (looking good, BTW). I’m sure that if/when the rubber hits the road later this year, you and daughter Sammi Lee will have a marvelous time traveling 🌞🌹 And, best wishes also with the recently opened online writing classes via Mayo Clinic!

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    1. It is my pleasure to create and share. Thank you for visiting, appreciating, and sharing your kind comments. 🙏🏻😊 The rubber will be hitting the tarmac soon for me and Sammi Lee. 😁 It should be a wonderful reunion for us. Hopefully my writer’s retreat will also exist beyond this page. 🤞🏻 🌄

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      1. I’ve already commented, so I hope that this doesn’t get me into trouble…I just wanted to say that your new Gravatar profile photograph is lovely 🤗 Have a nice day my friend 🌞

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    1. I did get caught up in a dream while writing those lines. 🥰 Hopefully, it comes true. It does sound wonderful, doesn’t it? Thank you, you are very kind. 😊 Actually, I have not, but funny enough, Sammi did in HS and a few years after. She called it Clifford, after the children’s book character. 😁

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      2. Thanks, it was funny. She kept one of the books in the car. Her truck was older, but it got her where she needed to go and as my dad said before he passed… lots of steel protecting her.

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  9. it is something when a poet/poetess reaches a climatic place, where the pen seems to take on a life of its own. when what we write engulfs us in the moment as it is been written. I get that sense. This is an exceptional piece. Then you add the voice, I looked upon your beauty and listened. I was on a retreat…lol
    Magnetic Michelle, keep living freely. and yes, you look like you are ready to travel. I myself have traveled. I drove from Wisconsin to Oklahoma last year. The journey was freeing.

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    1. Oh wow! Love your perceptive description. I experience that often when writing reflective and dreamy pieces, like this one. I would describe it as “being in the flow.” ✍🏻 💓 I am sure you too have experienced that. Thank you for your thoughtful words. 🙏🏻 “… on a retreat.” Nice! I will do my best to write and live freely, with travel being part of that. I am pleased to read you have been able to do some traveling. Bravo! Hopefully, it is just the start of more journeys.

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  10. Beautiful and comical Michele. “This is your captain speaking…” LOL 😂 Just when a dream feels so angelic, peaceful and a place you want to stay in forever…reality interrupts the flow of serenity. You just want to go back to sleep 😴… quickly. What a journey! 🤗

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    1. haha So true. Like when you are having an amazing dream and some annoying alarm clock sound shows up in your dream scene. However, a calming pilot voice sounds more appealing than an alarm clock. Mine is not exactly a male voice, but ya’ll have imaginations. ✨ Thanks for traveling with me! 🌞🌄 🤗

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    1. Thank you! I love when you stop by. I was trying to find your blog thru reader the other day, to read your last post, and I was having trouble finding you. I am sure it was me, although WP has been weird lately. So, I am happy to see you here today! 🌞

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  13. A lovely piece, Michele. When I got to “Hello Ladies and Gentlemen…” laughter ushered out of me, and the smile is still on my face. Loved it. I am ready to travel too, my friend. Here’s to our dreams coming true very soon. Have a lovely remainder of your day! ❤️

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    1. Warms my heart to know I delivered laughter thru my “captain” voice. haha
      Also funny… me researching Denver Airport for runway and windspeed information. 😆
      Poems sometimes need research too. So ready!! Travel dreams! Yes!
      Thank you! Enjoy your weekend. 😊🌞🌄

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  14. What a beautiful journey reading through your post – initially I floated as if in a beautiful meditation with your words, then was brought to ground as your plane landed, now curious where we are headed, then to know it is a dream in anticipation of what you look forward for – I loved the ride and wish you the most amazing unfolding reality from this dream ✨✨✨✨

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    1. Oh my! What a beautiful comment, Pragalbha. I really appreciate it. Funny that you mention “meditation” – I almost put that as a tag. It felt like a meditation to me too. A meditation turned fantasy with an appearance of cloud traveling fairies. 🧚🏻‍♀️ What fun that would be! Thank you for your heartwarming words and wishes.🥰💐

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  16. How so very beautiful. I’m dying to go on vacay.. But don’t see that happening this year either. Hope next year will be a better one for us all. Stay blessed dear 🤗💫❤️🌌

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    1. You are a sweetheart! Thank you, Diana. 💐 I hope you can get away sooner than next year. I can’t wait that long. I have a few things planned and hopefully, a writer’s retreat happens before the year is over. 🤞🏻

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      1. Ah thanks Michelle but it made me homesick for travel in a Good Way. Writing should bring out emotions of some kind and yours certainly do! I have been going through photos and my photo books looking at past trips, it has been fun to do. I hope soon for all of us 🙂

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  19. I have not done much traveling, Michele, save a few trips out to Tucson, Arizona, one to the beaches in South Carolina, and one to Melbourne, Australia, but I spent time dreaming and drifting to the hum of the plane until the captain’s voice too invaded my thoughts. Your rendition of his tone is 😂!

    A writing retreat in the Rocky Mountains sounds both inspiring and connecting. Your judicious capitalization of the word brings in an extra meaning. The past year has given me more than one opportunity to practice journeying and treating in my dreamscapes. Your words take me also on a journey.
    Thank you for sharing!

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    1. The traveling you have done sounds very nice. I love Hilton Head. 💓 I was surprised by how warm the water is. Beaches along CA and definitely further north are cold! Australia would be amazing. That annoying captain, invading our dreams.😂 I should have written an Airplane type scene (movie rendition). That would have been an entirely different poem. 🤣
      Thanks for noticing my title with an emphasis on the Treat. “Dreamscapes” – nice! That sounds like the start of lovely poem. It is quite fun and has been a saving grace being able to take those dreamscapes over the last year. Fun traveling with you on the Poet Express! 🚂

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      1. 🤪 I love word play, Michele, and especially appreciate just how much one capital letter or even italics make all the difference in how I read something.

        The captain’s voice, at some level, is part of the planebut he speaks so infrequently sometimes it is a little jolting!
        Delighted to be a fellow passenger with you. 🎟

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