Come In

with Sandra Fees

Here is your first issue of Poet in Spirit. Since our focus is on poets as spiritual seekers, where better to begin than with an inspirational poet who was herself a seeker: Emily Dickinson. Her lyric poetry and life have inspired many poets, including me. At a recent workshop I attended, we read her poem “Dear March—Come in—,” in which she invites in the month of March. You can read the first stanza below. Dickinson invites March to come right in and even go upstairs with her.

It’s a perfect poem to inspire us to welcome in some part of ourselves or the world—even something that we’ve been resisting or ignoring. What is asking to be welcomed in you this month—a memory, feeling, even a sorrow? Maybe the Muse. Why not literally invite it to take off its hat and come in by writing a letter. (You can read more about epistolary poems here.) Consider starting your letter as Dickinson does with “Dear [whatever you’d like to invite in ]—Come in—.”

I’d love to hear from you. How did it feel to extend an invitation in the form of a letter? Feel free to share your experience with me. And please, let me know if you found a little inspiration here or if you have any suggestions. And of course, feel free to share Poet in Spirit with friends.

Yours in spirit,

Sandra

P.S. Rumi’s poem The Guest House is a wonderful example of welcoming in everything, including the struggles, “even if they’re a crowd of sorrows.”