I recently wrote an alphapoem for my current writing course and want to share the process with you. An alphapoem is similar to an acrostic in that you write a word or phrase vertically down the left side of your page and use it to write your poem. However, whereas an acrostic purposely begins each line with the next letter of the word or phrase, an alphapoem wraps around – meaning, you start the first line with the first letter on your page and when you reach a word that starts with the next letter, you move down and continue from there until you hit a word beginning with the next letter and move down, etc. (Below is my alphapoem for reference).
Last week at work we had a mindfulness class, and the instructor asked us to share what we do for stress-reduction. Several of my coworkers mentioned prayer. It felt like a wakeup call for me; I often struggle with prayer, and I thought about what I can learn from my coworkers who turn to prayer. I wrote this alphapoem with the phrase “learn how to pray.”
Let’s start at the very beginning:
Every being needs to connect with a spiritual
Anchor. There is help in the world, but
Really – do you expect to get it without asking?
No, that isn’t
How it works.
Open your hands, create a cavity of
Widening, wanting, waiting,
Trusting, staying —
One relationship takes a lot of work.
Prayer is patient; a
Relationship requires faith in the other
And loosening the grip of control.
You have to enjoy it.
Love this.