Clarity in Unwritten Poetry: A WellSpell of Stardust for Courageous Leaders navigating mystery with grace, grit — and a calendar full of Zoom calls
Inspired by a line from Mrs. Who in A Wrinkle in Time (the musical performed at Arena Stage on June 19, 2025)
Photo of the A Wrinkle in Time Musical program cover, captured at Arena Stage on June 19, 2025.
Into the Stardust at Arena Stage…
Tonight, under soft house lights at Arena Stage,
I didn’t step into a spotlight.
I didn’t speak a word.
I just sat still—
heart open,
eyes wide—
and let a musical version of A Wrinkle in Time
move through me
like light through stained glass.
It wasn’t just a story.
It was alchemy.
Something ancient, and urgent,
rising through music,
through movement,
through the wild, fearless wisdom
of children and stars.
And it wasn’t fantasy.
It was a mirror.
A mirror for the moment we are living.
Meg Murray isn’t just a girl on a quest to save her father.
She’s the part of me that has grown tired
of pretending to be okay.
The part that wants answers.
Wants logic.
Wants the world to make sense—
and when it doesn’t, almost gives up.
Almost.
Until something shifts.
Something small.
Something huge.
Because Mrs. Who turns to her and says:
“You will find clarity in your unwritten poetry.”
And when I heard that—
I felt a ripple in my chest.
Not just recognition.
Permission.
(pause)
Because like Meg—
I’ve built a life on knowing things.
On being prepared.
On walking the path I can see.
But clarity didn’t come to her
through certainty.
It came through surrender.
Through love.
Through feeling.
And that’s where poetry lives.
Poetry doesn’t fix the darkness.
But it fights it.
Not with weapons—
but with light.
With memory.
With presence.
It teaches us to trust what we feel
even when we don’t fully understand.
It lets us hold contradiction.
It lets us love fiercely.
It reminds us we are more
than we were taught to believe.
Because poetry—like a tesseract—
bends time and space
to bring us back to what matters.
Poetry doesn’t give us maps.
It gives us compasses.
And sometimes,
that’s enough.
(pause)
And if you, like me,
are walking through this world
trying to hold it all together—
leading, guiding, showing up for others—
or carrying questions without clear answers—
this is for you,
To step into your own wrinkle in time.
Not a break,
but a fold.
A soft opening
into your own unwritten poetry.
Not what you’ve lost.
But what you haven’t yet dared to write.
What hasn’t been spoken—
but is waiting to shimmer
like stardust
on the page.
(pause)
Leadership Apothecary Practice: Write your unwritten poetry
To help you find those glimmers—
those threads of truth still hidden in your heart—
I offer these sentence stems.
Many were first shared by Philip Carr-Gomm
in his Lessons in Magic class.
Others have come through my own listening—
reflections I’ve found open the same kind of door.
Simple.
Powerful.
Every answer is a thread in your poem.
Not just any poem—
but the one that remembers who you are.
The one that pulses in the field of your heart.
So finish them.
Don’t overthink.
Let it come.
Let it breathe.
Say them out loud.
Write them down.
Listen.
(short reflective pause between each…allow what comes immediately to write it down without going into your left brain interpretation mode)
Right now, I am listening for…
The color that feels most like home is…
If I could speak to the moon tonight, I would say…
My courage lives in…
One thing I’ve always known but often forget is…
The next step, even if I can’t see the whole path, is…
I remember who I am when I…
If I were totally free, I would…
If I had all the time in the world, I would…
If I had only six months to live, I would…
If I couldn’t possibly fail, I would…
If I could follow my dream, I would…
The song of my heart tells me…
Every answer is a thread.
Every thread weaves the poem.
And your poem?
It knows you.
It loves you.
It calls you back to the light
when the shadows press in.
Because the unwritten
is not just what you’ve left behind—
it’s what you’re still here to create.
It’s what your soul remembers.
So write it.
Speak it.
Live it.
Let poetry fold space for you.
Let it bend time just enough
to remind you:
Love is the strongest force in the universe.
And clarity does not come from knowing everything—
but from being willing
to feel the song in your bones.
An invitation (just in case)
If this classic hasn’t found its way to you yet,
consider this your nudge to begin the journey.
Explore A Wrinkle in Time:
https://www.madeleinelengle.com/books/middle-grade-young-adult/a-wrinkle-in-time/