You Can Keep

Every line of this poem moves me with resoluteness.

Be. Who. You. Are. 

Be as our Earth is.

"I want skin intimate with the wind, the sun, the rain."

My most favorite line:

"Veins that flow like rivers to my ocean of a heart."

This is now embroidered unto my skin, into my heart.

I want to feel it deeply for the rest of my days and beyond.

I want it etched into my bones like the words on the stones at NewGrange.

I want my ashes to carry it on the wind to the ocean.

"I want bones trained to carry."

To carry gratitude, joy, and quiet rebellion.

To carry sorrow and heartbreak with tender devotion.

To carry each jarring incident as if a hidden treasure

 to be uncovered with curiosity and respect

To carry celebration of the seemingly insignificant,

and the majesty in the mundane.

"veins that flow like rivers to the ocean of my heart."

(I'm telling you; I love this line.)

Namaste'

 

May You Never Forget

"You kept going."

 This is one of those thoughts

that needs to be automatic,

most especially when you are in the midst

of hard, and overwhelmed, and afraid,

and alone and feeling invisible.

We need to have it at the ready...

as a loving reminder.

It matters.

You matter.

Namaste'

 

Gingko

 I've always been impressed by Gingko trees.

I was not aware of their longevity nor 

their ability to endure "drought, disease, pollution, pests."

One of the most beautiful sights I've seen

is a Gingko tree with a golden circle of light

around its base from its gorgeous fallen leaves.

"a golden fluttering, a radiant trembling on even the darkest streets."

"As if we are here to burn bright, to shine, to offer the world

every scrap of beauty we can."

Things are uncertain and distressing these days.

I am beyond grateful the natural world has

some ability to survive the lack of proper care

as it  still manages to provide us with 

a consistent offering of beauty and comfort.

 Namaste'

The Chosen

"Choose us all, please, choose us all."

And heal the divides within us, would be my additional request.

Can I even imagine everyone living in harmony?

Yes, yes I can; even as my heart breaks 

for how far away it seems to be moving these days.

How to carry such disasterous circumstances 

in our small humanness? 

That is the challenge of a lifetime.

To continue to believe in goodness

in the face of crushing evidence to the contrary...

I'm holding on.  I won't let go.

We're in this together.

Our goodness matters.

Namaste'

 

Once We Realize

"the nature of our existence is beyond thought and emotions"?

I'm having to sit with this.  I've not considered 

"the nature of my existence" from this angle, or any angle, really. 

Upon reflection, I rather like the idea. 

Being more than my thoughts and emotions appeals to me

because they can be quite troublesome and reductive.

"that it is incredibly vast and interconnected

with all other beings"?

Ok, yes, this sounds lovely up to a point...

however, there are definitely some "beings" I am not

in the least interested in being "interconnected" with.

I believe that's my thoughts and emotions...my small-self talking?

I'd like to think I possess some unseen and unknown pieces

that live on into infinity in ways I cannot begin to understand.

I accept the fact there is way more to existence than what I can contemplate.

I accept the fact that I don't have all the answers.

It's reassuring to consider powers beyond my comprehension

transmuting rotten things into goodness somewhere in this universe.

And to be a part of it in some infinitesimal way.

Something worth considering with deep, deep gratitude

on this Thanksgiving day, 2025.

Namaste'

 

Hum Hum

"It never leaves nor does it follow, but like the owl's hoot,

is heard in the stillness of the dark heart yearning."

It seems to me, sadness is something we seldom want to talk about,

 yet, there's no doubt we carry it with us.

These days, its making itself loud and clear in my heart

even as I stretch mightily to keep it from sapping 

all the oxygen in the landscape. .

"You return always, when alone and distraction abated,

to the tender humming..."

I'm loving the humming.  

While I enjoy hearing about each person's "song";

my singing voice does not thrill me in the least.

Humming?  I can do humming.  Humming makes me happy.

"Hum Hum"

Namaste'

 

Her Rhythm

"learning to listen to this rhythm that is all her own"

Are you learning how to do this?

 I think, I am, yet, it doesn't come automatically.

My immediate tendency is seeking out something to do with myself

rather than listening to any rhythms.  There's always plenty to do.

"to let the low notes be low, the high notes be high--to greet 

each thing as treasure no matter how clever the disguise."

This is a recently learned lesson that shifts the perspective when things go "wrong".

Instead of fussing and complaining, I look for ways discomfort can help instead of hinder.

"...to not go too soon to not stay too long."

This is where the listening is key...

taking cues from inside rather than relying on others.

I tend to look for permission from someone else,

rather than giving it to myself.

How many times have I ruefully realized later

that I should have listened to my inner voice earlier?

May we all stay in harmony with our own rhythm.

Namaste'