Author Maya Stein describes herself as a “Ninja poet, writing guide, creative adventuress”
I’ve known her through mutual friends and produced a couple of online interviews with her for work with the Hero’s Journey® Foundation, but I feel most kindred to her written work in the intimate spaces that she describes in her beautiful poetry.
She’s been writing 10 lines every Tuesday and sends it out into the world in an online newsletter. Each week is a beautiful poem that appears as if by magic. I love this poem, called “tuning in” which was a 10 Line Tuesday back in 2016. It’s about desserts and finding your way in life.
tuning in
Yesterday, it was the call to make dessert for the ones you love, and the kitchen
became a theater of heavy cream and good intentions. Later, you needed
the deserted island of a blank page, and the next day, a run followed by the hottest shower
your body could stand. This morning, a litany of lists pulling at your sleeve,
you wandered through the quiet rooms of your house, waiting for the coffee to brew,
for something to take shape in the dark. You realize, often, how your movements look
a little on the shifty side, your path fashioned by a compass few can recognize or follow.
And yet here you are, covering ground nevertheless, leaning into the instrument of your heart,
building the map song by song, even when the notes toss you somewhere you never intended.
Especially when they do.
You can sign up to receive a poem a week for free from Maya here: https://mayastein.com/subscribe
She also offers writing coaching and consults online.
I have a recipe for crepes from Maya – shared in a post-production conversation about grief.
Maya’s Dad’s Crepes
2 eggs
1 cup of flour
1.5 cups of milk
METHOD
Beat eggs, add flour until thick, then slowly add the milk. Pour out (thin) onto a hot greased pan. Flip when just firm enough to do so!