24 Comments
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Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Oohhh

It worked then 😄

So pleased you caught all the breathlines and pauses 💛

Moll Moonlight's avatar

Disconcerting but so subtle. I love how the irregular lines work with the images to keep us just slightly off balance. Then this line "I felt the air lean heavy," slows the rhythm and the heavy consonance makes the words sit palpable on our tongues.

The alchemy of words continues!

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Oohhh

It worked then 😄

And you're picking up on the weight of certain words, which is frankly awesome! I've been exploring this more in the last few weeks, and whilst it may seem odd to read, some words do sit heavier on the tongue, make our mouths move in different ways, and this can directly impact the sense of what we're reading

So pleased you caught all the breathlines and pauses too Moll 💛

Thank you for such a great "embodied" reflection!

Moll Moonlight's avatar

It did indeed work!

Yes! That ghost on the tongue, when you are silently reading, but your mind feels the words in your mouth, is so powerful, and you do feel it with some of the greatest writing. It's one of the skills I want to have one day! One day...

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

And maybe that day is already here, dearest Moll!

Moll Moonlight's avatar

You're lovely, but nope! I have a long road to travel! But I do have a good teacher...Xx

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

ohhh - please introduce me! I'm always in need of a good sifu!

Moll Moonlight's avatar

Ok, hang on!

(Fetches mirror)

Dipti  Vyas's avatar

A beautifully crafted compact cosmic fable, gentle, musical, and quietly devastating. The shift from playful rhythm (“the sun said hop… skip…”) to the heavy stillness at the end lands beautifully, like a myth collapsing into grief. Bravo Mark!

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Thank you Dipti!

I had a feeling you might like this one, and so pleased it landed well! 🫶🫶🫶

Dipti  Vyas's avatar

Thank you Mark.

Dawnithic's avatar

I really loved the rhyme in this poem; it flows so naturally.

When the sun stops and the moon stays dark, it’s not just the universe that goes silent, but something inside us too. The stillness speaks louder than any sound.

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Thank you, Dawnithic for your great words and reflection.

The cosmic part of this, that it's not just about the universe — it's what happens inside as well that matters — is something I had a feeling would resonate with you.

Stillness can indeed speak louder than any sound we hear or feel.

Dawnithic's avatar

Absolutely

MargaretGypsy's avatar

This was almost meditative for me. Like when we concentrate on our breath and retain the inhalation briefly before exhaling.

The sun stopped still. The moon stayed dark -

this is where one pauses before the next line - one, being me.

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Thank you so much for your reflection Margaret.

You've picked up on exactly what I was trying here, where punctuation and some words can act in a somatic way, and affect how we breathe into and even between the lines.

That inhale and exhale is 💛

I'll be covering this more in this week's episode on somatics, out later today - Before Words Arrive — and then to also go further into the practice of it, so we all learn together.

Thank you!

Urvasi Devi Dasi's avatar

Mark this is beautiful. it reads like a quiet unfolding of the world itself, both gentle and profound. I love how the sun and moon aren’t just celestial bodies here, but voices and witnesses, moving with a rhythm that mirrors the heart. The way you let silence linger — “in the quiet, inside us” — is haunting and tender. It’s the kind of poem that stays with you long after the last line, reminding us that even in stillness, the world and our emotions are deeply alive.

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Humbled Urvasi! 😊

That's such a beautiful reflection and I love that you've caught the embodiment of the sun and moon, not just as narrators or voices, but also as our witness.

Thank you so much for bringing your words and spirit to my writing, and bringing your grace with them.💛

Urvasi Devi Dasi's avatar

Oh my … thank you. such beautiful words.

AsukaHotaru's avatar

I really love how this one moves, Mark — the way it starts playful, almost like a rhyme, and then quietly slips into something cosmic and solemn.

“The sun said hop” felt almost innocent at first, until it wasn’t.

That ending — the silence, the stillness — it stayed with me long after reading.

It made me stop for a bit — just to listen to the quiet it left behind…

Mark Crutchfield's avatar

Thank you Asuka!

You picked up my little nursery rhyme feel to it and then also the transition to something more cosmic! ooooohhh! 😊😊😊

It's interesting how small cues, a word, a rhythm, can lead us into thinking of something playful and childlike without mentioning much at all, e.g. hop, and a few short lines.

AsukaHotaru's avatar

I love that you mentioned rhythm — it’s what sneaks up first~ “Hop” feels tiny and bright at the start, then somehow opens into this huge, starry quiet.

It’s funny how one small word can carry both play and wonder — like a child naming the sky before learning what stars really are~ adorable in fact~