#BakeAid
Issue #81 of your inbox poetry magazine
Homemade bakes,
that's what we're selling here.
And yes, all the money you spend goes
to helping refugees.
That's #BakeAid.
Roughly two years ago I started this adventure. I had no real plan on what this was going to be, but I wanted to try this new platform for my writing. Then, we had just entered that global pandemic with a lot of uncertainties and challenges. But also with a lot of humanity. From applauding healthcare workers, to writing messages on sidewalks in front of homes of people in lockdown, to volunteering to do grocery shopping and so on. I loved that, and wanted to share about it. So, I did.
Now, two years on, there’s a new crisis at hand. The humanity we saw at the beginning of the COVID pandemic is now showing again in Europe when it comes to welcoming refugees from Ukraine. This thing here on Substack I started then, has evolved into what I like to call an inbox poetry magazine. With today’s poem, I’m dipping back into the early days of this newsletter.
The poem was inspired by how our community west of Paris has responded to the current crisis. As parents and staff at an international school, we decided to raise money to help fund the care of refugees. So, we bake and raise money. Some of that will go to the families who are housing refugees, some will be forwarded to organisations such as the Red Cross. It seems a little gesture, but it’s great to see that people immediately responded. It’s easy to organise as well. Call for homemade bakes, sell in the schoolyard after school, and let the students help. For them, it’s very important to channel their energy into a positive contribution. They have another big scary global event to deal with and need help giving it a place. Doing something to help others is, I believe, a healthy way of making sense of a senseless thing.
Funnily, this Sunday is the International Day of Happiness. The theme for this year is “choose to help”. Show your humanity. Help. In any way you can. Our #BakeAid example is very easy to implement. Get your community together, ask for bakes, and raise funds. But there are other things you could do, too. Like just donate, using the buttons in this issue of your inbox poetry magazine.
Read on for the Something to listen to and Poetry elsewhere sections.
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Something to listen to
This one you can even watch while you listen. It’s not poetry, but it is something that I found to be inspiring. Especially now. It’s a talk, followed by some questions and answers, about finding hope in hopeless times.
This week’s poem is available as a reading. Get the audio experience here:
Every month we curate a playlist for you. Twenty-seven songs to make you feel happy. Check out the marchffct playlist here:
Poetry elsewhere
The sea is a magnificent source of inspiration. It conjures up imagery of enormous diversity. For example, a water creature looking for sequins in this poem by Carol J. Forrester titled Some Nights.
Someone apparently once said that every poem in essence is a love poem. Others find it hard to write on command, and rather dance around the subject. That dance can be quite beautiful, like in Afraid to write this love poem I start to lecture,.
When something is taken away from you, you really realize how much it has become a part of you. Well, in this case, part of my weekly reading routine. I really like what Larissa and Kelly are doing over at Poetry Trapper Keeper, and then, they got a TOS violation ban from Substack, the platform that puts itself at the forefront of fighting against censorship. Go figure. Anyway, they are back on air. This is the wonderful piece that got them their warning:
