she`s so skirt!

Pat Keown muses on creative expression.

"Being in touch with our creative process is a longing for many of us," reckons Pat. Like Calliope, the wisest of the Greek Muse goddesses, she understands that "in order to stay centered, there's this part of ourselves we have to attend to." The Beaufort resident hosts a monthly poetry group, inspiring others to write and share their work, listening for the common voice among its multigenerational members. "To get together and read your own poetry is to invite an experience that is very different than to just have a conversation. You're sharing from a very deep level." By day, Pat frequently deals with patients in crisis as a psychiatric triage nurse, yet this often heart-wrenching job only enlivens her to keep attending to her own creative pursuits. "To do what I do, I need to be as whole for myself as I can possibly be. I've got to create time for the things that are inside me. We all do."