How It Works:

1. Read the poem 

2. Do your own reflection on it, noting what it inspires in you

3. Feel free to use your own reflection as your prompt or…

4. Use the selection of prompts below

5. Pick one that inspires you and write (feel free to use only one or write several poems using different prompts) or…

6. Don’t use any of the provided prompts and follow your inspiration from wherever it comes

A Morning Offering

I bless the night that nourished my heart
To set the ghosts of longing free
Into the flow and figure of dream
That went to harvest from the dark
Bread for the hunger no one sees.

All that is eternal in me
Welcomes the wonder of this day,
The field of brightness it creates
Offering time for each thing
To arise and illuminate.

I place on the altar of dawn:
The quiet loyalty of breath,
The tent of thought where I shelter,
Waves of desire I am shore to
And all beauty drawn to the eye.

May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.

May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.

John O’Donohue

If you wish to attend the read around (t’s free, fun, a great way to share, and reading a poem is optional). Note: If you registered already, you do not need to register again, simply use the link sent to you in your confirmation email. Register Here:

No read Around this week. The next Read-Around is 12/4/25 at 5:00 PM PST

My Thoughts

Every day is, as they say, a new day. And in every day, we have many beginnings: we have an awakening, a set of routines, a start to the day. Every activity we do during the day has a beginning, a series of steps, and an end. Aristotle said, the beginning is more than half the whole. If this is true, then how we start something sets the stage for everything that follows. That’s why I endeavor to make conscious transitions from one activity to the next, taking a moment to set my intention for what is to come. Even with big goals, like learning how to live the life we would love, it's wise to start small. We might dream a future that is seemingly distant and very different than our current circumstances. But we can feel the feelings we believe it would engender. So let's take our cue from John O’Donoghue’s poem, “A Morning Offering”and stop postponing our dream. We can “do at last what we came her for” in a tiny act today. If you dream of having a big impact, then start with a small one today. If you dream of deep conversations, then start today with a dip of the toe into the deep. If you dream of loving the like you live, start by loving something about the one you have!

No Read-around this week. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Prompt Ideas

1. Journal or write a poem for Thanksgiving.

2. Write about something in your life that you love.

3. Write about some small act that represents “what you came here for.”

4. Write about anything else in the poem or in life that inspires you.