Practice Ways with Jacqueline Suskin
The Verse for Now
Practice Ways is a monthly feature on Balance Practice that shares notes from writers, makers, coaches, and creatives, offering perspectives on what balance looks like as real life is happening.
What a dream to hear from one of my favourite poets,
, this month! And just in time for Summer Solstice. Like her new collection, The Verse for Now, as well as her monthly publication , Jacqueline’s notes on the themes of balance and practice are timely and medicinal.She’s generously shared a few poems from the book here, best read barefoot outside I might add… Jacqueline reminds us that if ever there were a time to connect to the natural world and to each other it is now.
What’s feeling really good to you in this season?
My garden keeps me grounded and sane in our brutal world. I put a lot of time and attention into the land I steward. My perennial flower beds are substantial this year and this is our first season with vegetables growing in the new beds we dug in our backyard. The crops are booming and giving us so much green goodness. This is what makes me feel at ease, witnessing growth, tasting what the earth has to offer, while diligently making a home for pollinators and birds. I turn to plants in every season, but as summer starts to show itself in fresh yellow coreopsis, I feel at least this earth system is working well and that fills my cup.
What does balance look like for you right now?
I don’t feel a lot of balance in my life currently. There is so much upheaval in our world, so much oppression, pain, economic uncertainty and ecological ruin, that it’s hard to feel a sense of steadiness. But the earth gives me an understanding of cycles that persist, the equal light and dark of equinox, the long stretch of solstice, and this is where I find my equilibrium.
What practices support your sense of balance?
I’m interested in the basics of breathing, grounding, stretching and deep listening. These practices slow me down and affirm my interconnection with all things. I put my bare feet on the ground, look up at the sky, put my face in the sun, move my hands deep in the grass, inhaling and exhaling. I bring myself to the river, I get in the cold water, and I feel the support of the planet. So many other things are questionable, distracting and harmful, but this relationship building with the earth is steady, it’s clear and reliable. This is what brings me into stillness and praise.
What’s one gesture toward center you’d invite everyone reading to partake with you today?
I invite everyone to remember you are the earth itself in rare form. You are part of this planet in orbit and so with that knowledge, with that truth, what is your body asking of you on an atomic level? Your earthly body, this cellular weave, is always speaking to you. Is there a place you go to best listen? Each day offers an opportunity to lean into this basic wisdom of the self in connection with place. I think our purpose resides in this link and if we practice the language of landscape, if we redefine our bond with earth, we have chance after chance to change and grow with it in unison. Is there a voice speaking through you, whispering direction? How can you quiet your mind in order to hear it? This is the realm of imagination and to me that’s the same as intuition, the guiding cosmic force that’s always leading us to the central source, available to anyone and everyone.
Jacqueline Suskin is a poet, educator, and author of nine books. She has composed over forty thousand improvisational poems with her writing project, Poem Store. Suskin lives in Detroit, where she works as a teaching artist, bringing nature poetry into classrooms. Purchase your copy of her new book The Verse For Now and experience more of Jacqueline’s work at jacquelinesuskin.com.
The place I go to best listen is by water. So I think I’ll take myself off for a walk by the river today.
Beautiful interview. Thank you 🙏🏻