Every once in a while, I like to feature a guest post. It is good to look at joy from a different view than just mine.
This week Undaunted Joy features Rachael Denny. I first met Rachael at Image Journal’s Glen Workshop in 2018. I was ENTRANCED by her voice. Listening to her sing her own songs, transports you to another time. It was as if the California earth itself was telling me stories from when my ancestors first moved there from Nebraska in the early 20th century. Rachael is a unique talent.
Here is one of her poems and I cannot help but wonder if she has put it to music.
***
Flying over the Pacific by night,
my niece was enraptured
by the sight of the clouds in the full moon.
It looks like Heaven, she said.
After clearing customs in Surabaya,
we were greeted by my Indonesian nephew,
surprised and delighted
to meet his cousins.
My brother and my sister-in-law
had planned the trip,
made the reservations,
and showed us many wonders.
A steep trail up a mountain,
through a tea plantation,
leading to a little cafe
surrounded by treehouses.
Pools where you dip your feet,
and little fish come in a swarm
and nibble your calluses.
A hall decked with flowers,
opening out into a garden
with statues,
and paths winding among fruit trees.
And the Batu Secret Zoo,
where, among the birds and beasts,
you come upon a carousel,
and ride it, just because.
Truly, on holiday,
one becomes a child again,
if one lets oneself.
And the joy of the children themselves-
my niece, swimming in the pool,
making up a little song about being a coconut.
And my youngest nephew,
taking such delight in the natural world,
the snails, and the little crabs,
the softness of a handful of mud,
all of which
he was happy to share.
Rachael Denny is a writer and musician who divides her time between the Santa Lucia Mountains of California, and Oregon's Willamette Valley.
If you would like to write a guest post, send me your submission. Perhaps we can find a home for it! With over 1100 subscribers, I’d love to use this Substack to share some new joyful voices.
How sweet to have you feature some of Rachael's words--she is one of a kind!
What a beautifully written poem. I really enjoyed it.