Swaddling The Sorrow

"Swaddle the Sorrow"

Such a tender, tender way to treat sorrow,

to wrap it tightly in a warm blanket,

hold it close to your heart and 

croon soft tunes of understanding.

Allowing it to scream and wail and thrash

around as it weeps through the sorrow

is no small gift...it is mighty care. 

Walking floors, rocking for hours,

the sorrow will surge and subside,

surge and subside...slowly giving way

to exhaustion and calm.

"when something feels safe enough

to be what it is, it can't help but lift,

drift, can't help but slip into

something more comfortable."

 

Except For The Body

While I  agree that next to a loved one,

"trees are [one of] the most beautiful forms on the earth."

Rivers are coming to mind, 

spider webs, 

sunflowers,

all kinds of flowers,

waterfalls,

mountains,

grass of parnassus,

moss,

this list goes on and on.

Aren't we the fortunate ones to live on this Earth?

Aren't we the fortunate ones to die on this Earth

and become part of it?

 

I No Longer Pray

Oh my, can you imagine living in such a manner?

To know when to recede and when to rise?

I'd like to believe that the overwhelming majority of us

who are NOT happy with how things are going

have fingers on the button advising us

as when to recede (now) and when to rise.

I feel poised for the go ahead to rise. 

May it come at just the right time

with just the right set of instructions

and may we all answer the call.

To never mistake either for defeat?

It wasn't long ago that I found myself

writing I was allergic to win/lose language.

It felt like it came out of nowhere yet

I realized in the typing how true it was.

We are recalibrating...adjusting dials...

correcting the skewed course our country

is currently on.  

This vessel will listen to the winds of hearts

and adjust the route we're taking...

unto a path that moves us toward

the values we cherish.

I know you know what they are.

We're in this together.

We have what it takes to make it happen.

 

How Would You Live Then?

This poem animates the world around us

in such enchanting ways you can't help but 

start to see things from this perspective.

I'm not entirely sure I want a mockingbird as an advisor,

but I would gladly welcome an owl, a horse; nor

would I refuse a spider or an earthworm. 

If forced to choose one, I would have to go for the spider

with it's amazing creative capabilites.  

The more I consider this, the more creatures come to mind,

I'm going to have to create a roundtable of cabinet members.

We all know, sad as it is, if the bees were filling our walls 

with honey, the exterminator would be getting a call, right?

I would be forever grateful for a brook sliding downhill 

next to my bedroom window..it's all the prayer I need.

I raise a glass, tip my hat and bend a knee

 to the silver of water and the gold of sunflowers. 

 

The Anniversary We Needed

This is tardy for the actual anniversary but 

still powerful and seems fitting for 9/11 anniversary as well.

"grief is an active ingredient in the soil of necessary change."

I do not relish that this is true.  Sorrow is HARD

and there are many ways to avoid stepping into it,

yet it is vital for our health and wellbeing...

it makes us more complete human beings.

"this moment looks, of course, like a win for the old ways, 

but if you see through the clouded waters you'll find that the final

gasps of power are coming from an empty, crumbling stage."

May it crumble fast and contribute its compost

to a more just, dignified and healthy world for all.

"let us do as our founding document requires 

and declare our hearts for something greater--

not for the nation we have or have been, 

but the one we believe we can be."

My heart replies with a fervent yes, yes, yes. may it be so.

 

The Word Human

"let the earth do what it is here to do:

hold you, steady you.

As is often the case, I nod my head yes as I read this,

and then a tiny question arises...well, what about

that time you read how David Whyte

described his experience when an earthquake

took the earth out from under him?

Ok, yes, that can happen, and its no small matter,

so lets REALLY appreciate when it holds and steadies.

"...your heart, aired out. . .the whole sky moving in."

This is an alluring image to embody.

I often gaze at the sky with deep appreciation,

but have never considered it moving in.

It's an intoxicating invitation which I will

RSVP yes to every time I see the sky from now on.

"While your body speaks in its mother tongue."

Love, love, love this line.

Round of applause for May. 

 

Misty

"my insignificance thrills me."

For someone who spends a great deal of energy bolstering my self worth 

in order to undo the programming of said insignificance, 

this is unexplored territory.

"Knowing my place" in the universe...

in relation to time and size is 

an excellent place to get going.

This does not mean we are worthless!

This is where two opposites 

can learn to walk arm in arm...

We ARE signficant...

as signficant as every other entity

in this cosmos...nothing and no one

is less or more than we are.

This is a vast terrain of mind shifts...

I am as significant as a mosquito,

a fruit fly, poison ivy, deer flies...

And we are all infinitesimally small

in relation to this endless universe we live in. 

It all boils down to equality, doesn't it?

To have this playground of thought

lead to a place of loving everything

and everyone is enchanting. 

I'm a yes.