This Prayer

Summary

Michelle Lovett shares her revised poem "This Prayer," reflecting on the evolution of her work and the importance of revision, and invites readers to engage with Paper Poetry's "The Makeover" challenge.

Abstract

The website content presents a reflective and artistic journey of Michelle Lovett through her poem "This Prayer." Originally written in 2021, the poem underwent a transformation in 2023, with changes aimed at enhancing its depth and resonance. Lovett emphasizes the significance of revision in her creative process, noting that her life and work are in a constant state of evolution. She expresses gratitude for the opportunity to share her reworked poem and encourages others to participate in Paper Poetry's challenge, which prompts poets to revisit and revise their previous works. The poem itself is a meditation on spirituality, connection, and the shared human experience, inviting readers to embrace the syncopation of life and love.

Opinions

Michelle Lovett values the process of revision in her poetry, viewing it as an integral part of her creative evolution.
She acknowledges a tendency to over-resolve in her writing and sees the revision process as a way to refine her work by removing unnecessary endings.
Lovett appreciates the community aspect of poetry, thanking Carolyn Hastings and Paper Poetry for providing a platform for poets to share their revised works.
The author views her poem as a living entity, capable of guiding her and reminding her to cherish the divine connections in life.
Lovett is open about the early stages of her public poetry sharing, asking for understanding as she develops her online presence.

is printed on the inside (listen with link)

This prayer is made on the pages of my cells no body had to be cut down or die or be forgiven for this creation- this spirit I gratefully host- deep in the marrow of my bones- to shine -this prayer is sung only on the off beats on the chance your heart dances syncopation and rhyme like mine does and when the moon is just right we can embrace-read-each-page of our bodies learn and relearn all of our languages- the prayers we have already told- the ones that came to us in dreams or were whispered on mountaintops flowing into space-creating our own versions of here and now-holy and new asking and answering why have we come and what are we meant to do?

I wrote “This Prayer” poem in 2021 and left it in my notebook… there are so many words in so many notebooks! When Carolyn Hastings and Paper Poetry gave the challenge to revise, I grabbed at the chance.

My work is a frequent revision (as is my life:)#alwaysevolving — this particular poem was just written quickly and left. The biggest change, you may see, is that I took off the resolution…. I must admit, I sometimes need to pull myself back from over resolving… adding too many versions of “the end”.

Thank you for being a part of my process and thank you Carolyn and Paper Poetry for the opportunity to share.

This prayer

(the original poem — the bold, italicized words are the ones I’ve changed or removed)

This prayer is made on the the pages of my cells no body had to be cut down or die or be forgiven for this creation- this spirit I gratefully host- deep in the marrow of my bones- to shine -this prayer is sung only on the off beats on the chance your heart dances syncopation and rhyme like mine does and when the moon is just right we can embrace while I read each page to learn and relearn all of our languages- the prayers we have already told- the ones that came in dreams or were whispered on mountaintops flowing into space-creating our own versions of here and now-holy and new remembering why we have come and what we are meant to do this prayer is my guide to remind me to treasure the breath the divine connections of my life and ours

Check me out saying the reworked version of my poem. Please pardon the appearance of my channel, I’m just gettin’ started.

And here’s the link to Paper Poetry’s before and after challenge if you want to take part —

THE MAKEOVER

This Prayer

is printed on the inside (listen with link)

This prayer

The Makeover

Fizz-crackle let your poetry dreams ignite