Are you open?
A story about a poem, the poem in question, some thank you’s, and an announcement.
This post marks two years of The Curious Platypus sharing his curious, (and he likes to think, often humorous) musings on Substack. And in the interest of whimsy, I’ve decided to initiate a little tradition. From here forth, with the power vested in me by the freedom of being a self-publishing writer on the internet, I decree that every year on The Curious Platypus’s Substack anniversary–I shall share a poem. (For those who may have missed it, here is the poem I shared last year.)
Before we get to today’s poem, however, I want to share the story of how it came to be. . .
It was 2020, and I was at university studying philosophy. Back then, I was a bright-eyed young student full of magnificent thoughts of grandeur. I was going to be the greatest philosophical thinker of the 21st century–the brightest mind to ever wrestle with life’s biggest problems. And while there is no doubt that this is how I will be remembered, on the particular day in question, I was taking a break from my philosophizing to peruse the pin-up board outside my university’s cafeteria. There I was, half-heartedly looking through part-time job ads, when I came across this flyer…
At the time, I was still rather new to writing. In fact, other than dismal attempts at writing silly rap lyrics to entertain my musician friends, I had never written a poem. But something about the picture of that little house sitting so peacefully at the foot of that lake spoke to me. And so, instead of going to my next class, I high tailed it to the library and immediately set about crafting the greatest damn poem the world had ever known.
In the end, what I wrote did not win the highly sought after $25 gift card. It did, however, impress the judges enough that they threw me the bone of publishing it on their website. Which means that what you’re about to read is the first piece of writing that I ever kinda-sorta got published. And so, without further ado, here it is. . .
Are you open?
To a house amongst the trees
that’s nestled amongst the leaves.
With a lake that’s out past the porch
which reflects the shine of the moon like a torch.
That has a vast amount of land
for us to explore hand in hand.
Are you open?
To run away with me
to forgo the world and just be.
Will you leave all this behind
to live a life of a simpler kind.
To join me by the stream
and to live a life that is my dream.
Are you open?
Since this is my two-year anniversary on Substack, I’d also like to take a moment to say a huge thank you to YOU my awesomely beautiful, nice-smelling readers! It’s hard to convey how much it means to me to know that there are real-life human people out there who consistently read my work. I remind myself of this often and the joy that comes from that is something that never wears off. Not only that but getting to know many of you over the last two years has been the highlight of my Substack experience. I came here with the cringey goal of ‘growing an audience’ and I feel that what I’ve gained instead is a community of friends. So, thank you:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |All of you, (even those of you I didn’t tag–you know who you are!) have made my time on Substack so much richer. I am deeply grateful for having crossed virtual-paths with you. THANK YOU!
And finally, I’ve decided to put out my proverbial hat. Meaning that henceforth, I will be turning on paid subscriptions. At this point, I will not be putting any of my writing behind a paywall. Nor will I be offering paid subscribers anything that free subscribers don’t already receive (other than my deep gratitude). Instead, my hope is that for those who are able and willing signing up for a paid subscription will simply be their way of supporting my work. And so, (get ready, this is where I tie this whole piece together) I just have one question left. . .
Are you open to signing up for a paid subscription to this Platypus’s humorous newsletter?
This is an amazing poem Michael. There aren't many young guys who would drop everything to randomly enter a poetry contest so I think it's awesome you did that and it unearthed the writing spark within you. I find it fascinating how these things happen. Coincidence that you saw that poster? I think not.
Congrats on the second anniversary of TCP, it's a great publication and community. Onward!
Michael! Happy Anniversary, my friend! Congratulations on the two year mark, AND your published poetry which is, by the way, gorgeous. You were robbed of that $25 gift card... Big love ❤️