Wash, Rinse, Repeat

Or, "Write, Share, Retreat, Repeat"

She writes for herself. She wants to get it out of her head, her heart,

and onto the paper.

So she writes. She realizes writing helps, and that excites her.

She discovers she wants to share her writing with others.

She exposes her heart by reading her essays and poems at events.

She experiences people attentively listening to, and ingesting her words.

They laugh, tears trickle, and they tell her they relate.

They say things like, “You told my story” or “Others need to hear your story.”

She basks in the warmth of their reactions, fulfilled and happy.

And feels exposed, vulnerable as well.

She retreats to the shadows. To silence. To safety.

In time, she regroups. And feels more stories wanting to be written.

She writes.

She shares her story and her poems with others. They respond.

Photo by Dana Fritz, Hixson-Lied Professor of Art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, circa 2017-2021. Displayed at Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Kansas State University Campus, Manhattan, KS, 2025. I was with my writing group, visiting the Beach museum a few months ago. When I saw this picture, I thought of the photographer positioned under the tree, looking out into the expanse of the open prairie, which inspired this writing.