one day

One Day

One day after another-
Perfect. 
They all fit.

        Robert Creeley

This is a poem I have long used in my dramatherapy sessions.  I think it's strength lies in its perfect form and simplicity, acknowledging what we know and don't necessarily think of...there is always another day; something we live through and only really contemplate when we are at the extremes:  despairing or joyous:  double-edged.  For people experiencing the debilitating effects of mental illness another day to follow the one before,  can be overwhelming, distressing and a source of further anxiety and pain; not to be welcomed at all.  But then the fact that there is a seamless transition from one day to another could be seen as a source of optimism a continuation of hope, something that we don't have to think about; it's all taken care of by the fact that the world keeps turning and in that spinning enables the possibility for change; nothing is static - it's a seamless move from one to another as the fit is perfect, we don't see it, we don't need to see it, just trust that something different could happen tomorrow.

Many people thought Creeley wrote in free-verse, but it is also true to say that his poem's had a very precise shape and rhythm making them formed and tightly structured.  I like this in respect of what this poem says:  anything can happen in a day (free form) but one will follow the other (form).  I do urge people to read Creeley.  There are two volumes of collected works.  This particular poem is from the 1945-1975 collection.  From that collection I recommend:  Every Day, The Moon, I Know a Man  and The Dishonest Mailman.
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