About Sarah

Sarah Dunning Park is our poet-in-residence. Her new book, What It Is Is Beautiful, contains poems about the complexities of being a mom. Writing this poetry sometimes helps her be a better mother, and sometimes leads her to yell at everyone to let her think in peace.

by Sarah on May 9, 2013 • 20 Comments Inspiration You

Poem: The Birds and the Bees

Does anyone find it easy to talk about sex with their kids?

I know there’s a range of comfort levels when it comes to this topic. When I was growing up, my family avoided the subject — so I’ve got plenty of anxiety when it comes to the dreaded “sex talks.”

In today’s poem, I explore the complicated emotions that go along with this challenge.
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Poem: What it is is Beautiful

Don’t we all ask ourselves: How can I be more present? How can I find more enjoyment in these days, right now? How can I appreciate what I have, before trying to rush on to the next stage of life?

I wrestle with these questions all the time. I want everything in my life to line up with my ideals, so I tend to attack each day as if it were a project to manage. But isn’t life supposed to be a feast of experiences to taste and savor, instead?

Having kids has reminded me that imagination is transformative. Everything doesn’t have to be as we think it is. We can see the trappings of our lives differently.

This, for me, is the point of all poetry. It’s a small and seemingly insignificant thing — but in that concision, it can deliver a potent shot of perspective.

The following poem is the title poem from my book (newly-released on Amazon, for the price of a greeting card). Its title is a reference to a LEGO ad from the 1980s. I chose it because it’s the perfect reminder: It doesn’t matter what type of chaos we’re looking at — we can choose to see this life with new eyes.
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by Sarah on March 14, 2013 • 31 Comments Inspiration

Poem: Trio

Your kids wait patiently for their turn to speak to you, right? They sit quietly, without fidgeting, and attend to the current conversation? They graciously allow a sibling to finish telling a story before sharing their own?

Yeah, um, neither do mine. In fact, I often feel as if I’m being followed around by a pack of baby goats: “Maa! Maa! Maa!”
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by Sarah on February 21, 2013 • 46 Comments Inspiration

Poem: Book Learning

I‘ve always loved reading. For as long as I can remember, I have turned to books for entertainment and comfort — and also for information and wisdom. So when I was pregnant with my daughter, Lucy (and even more so after she was born), I naturally devoured any book on pregnancy or childcare I could get my hands on.

I’d start with a simple question — is my baby supposed to be acting this way? — and somehow it would turn into an epic quest to find the One Right Answer, which I was certain must be found somewhere in the impressive stack of parenting books on my bedside table.

I was spending way too much time poring over these books — time that I could have spent finding my own way to mother her, or, I don’t know, catching up on my sleep.

So — after an intervention from my husband — I took a break. I stepped out of the urgent conversations about diapering methods, sleep training, and discipline, and tried to focus on my child and our days together.
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by Sarah on January 24, 2013 • 48 Comments Inspiration

Poem: Resolution

The following is a guest post by our poet-in-residence, Sarah Dunning Park.

First, by way of an intro, I need to make a confession:

Before having kids, I thought I was going to “do” motherhood perfectly. It would be challenging, of course, and probably character-building — but it wouldn’t be difficult to at least appear outwardly put-together, as a family. I mean, how hard could it be to teach kids decent manners and to dress them in clothes that couldn’t double as pajamas?
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