During November, I've been writing a poem every day.

I haven't even really been counting it as part of my workload, because I started it with a wonderful friend of my mine, who is a wonderful creative soul, and we decided to take on the challenge together to help keep each other accountable. It's not only made me consistent, but it's also made me feel much closer to her as a friend, a really heartwarming experience. I used the Gratitude Challenge prompts from the "Positively Present" instagram account, so the work has been very reflective.

It's been lovely sharing poems with each other over the course of the month, as the quality of my friend's poetry inspired me to step up my game, and the consistency meant I saw genuine improvement over the month. I tend to be very attached to rhyming verse, and Megan often writes prose or blank verse, and both have a real beauty.

Over time, my poems gained nuance and depth, exploring more complex emotional states and stories. My favourite of mine are contained in the photo and I am proud of how vulnerable I was able to be in writing them. They're not necessarily autobiographical or confessional, but they are truthful. My favourite of Megan's read like beautiful war poetry from the 20th century, and the imagery was so clear.

I never would have guessed that a commitment to regular artistry would bring me to a November full of poetry, but I'm very glad it did.