03 September 2012

The Gift of Story (for Saundra)


Storyteller, you saw no mystery
without its clues, no myth
without its faith, no fable
without its animals, and
no refrain without its song

Storyteller, you heard no legend
without its hero, no fairy tale
without its magic, no folktale
without its home, and no parable
without its simple allegory

Storyteller, you touched no heart
without its personal story, no
personal story without its bones.
no bones without their hearts
and no hearts without their truth

Storyteller, you shared pain
and its transformation, power
and its performance, love
and its insight, your practice
and your permission to write.



On Labor Day weekend at Pendle Hill, I participated in a storytelling workshop with the great artist Saundra Gilliard.  Called "What's Your Story? Uncover Hidden Stories from your Life's Experiences,"  the workshop helped us all to see the stories we tell ourselves and it showed us how to transform them.  Saundra amazingly led all 18 of us to tell two stories each within the 8 hours of workshop: one based on the plot line of an Aesop's fable and another that was personal.  Truth, trust and Saundra make for one incredible experience!  This catalog poem is one in a series of thank you poems, and I posted it in the pantry at Poets United "Poetry Pantry - #113."

  Copyright © 2012 S.L.Chast

4 comments:

  1. This is something different....every line speaks distinctively.....enjoyed...story telling is really a magic...

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  2. Sounds like a fantastic workshop experience and you generated a cool poem about it and storytelling in general, love that last verse.

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  3. This is a beautiful poem, Susan; and it must have been a wonderful experience. I am sure she was honored to have this poem written for her. There is power in story telling. I would like to have been at the workshop WITH you, as I am sure a lot of the learnings could also translate into writing poetry!

    As you have read my current poem in Pantry, I will take the liberty of sharing this one:

    http://inthecornerofmyeye.blogspot.com/2012/09/doubt.html

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  4. Susan, this poem is pure magic. The workshop sounds INCREDIBLE!!!!!!! WOW! Your poem is positively mystical, and I so love it.

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