The Clearing

A river of words to describe the actual river...

isn't it a marvel?  

"Soon even that will sink and the water will be clear again.

I, too, have felt the gift of slowing, how it invites a sedimentation

of all I try to carry--the silt of my stories, the muck of the world."

With the quantity of muck in this world, 

I feel how vital the gift of slowing 

is for shifting the molecules of frenzy 

into a quiet trust and vigorous hope.

". . .the more calm I am, 

the more clear I can become."

This is the way we remain 

fiercely sane, unwaveringly civil 

and decent.

 

Keep Some Room In Your Heart

"Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable."

While I know full well what Mary O means,

we are living in a world where a lot of unimaginable

things are happening which I refuse to keep room for in my heart.

Perhaps I should say, I see them but do not entertain them.

(Things you "refuse" tend to grow larger)

In light of this, I want to say, 

"keep some room in your heart

for the unimaginable."

 of the kind that uplifts and inspires

our world toward goodness,

toward decency and fairness,

toward truth and honest justice...

toward total equality and equity for all...

feel free to add your own kind of unimaginable.

 

In The Name of Daybreak

 

I am swearing an oath to uphold 

these words from this moment on.

May they live strong and long in me. 

To be:

"a guardian of nature,

a healer of misery,

a messenget of wonder,

an architect of peace."

I Have Found Such Joy

"I wish I might tell every woman who goes seeking far

for some elusive, feverish delight, that very close to home

the great joys are: the elemental things. . ."

"The Message" seems tack sharp clear this week, doesn't it?

We already have what we need...it might be buried deep,

but it's there...quietly waiting for us to notice.

It's not necessarily loud and bodacious...

more often steady, patient, and reliable...

the foundation holding up the entire enterprise.

 

The Message

"It would be like looking for your own eyes."

I find this idea that what you seek is already within you

is lush, and rich with enchantment.

The paradox is a relief and a riddle...

it places our very own particular genius in sharp relief

against the backdrop of "not enough" that stalks us.

It lightens the load of constantly striving to live up

to something which already exists.  

I'm thinking ruby slippers.

 

Of Course I Have Lines On My Face

"of course i have lines on my face,

life keeps folding me open 

like a map of all the women I've been."

Wrinkles as a sign of joy...as a sign of becoming.

That's a new "wrinkle" isn't it?

I'll take it.

 

And Still

The river with its rich, fertile being and meanings

"keeps coming, touching me, passing by"

as I gather a lifetime of verses and prose.

It's uncanny how many times and in how many places

the river shows up with an encouraging air.

It's given me chills over and over to

see how it has wended its way...

quietly, softly, 

all along my journey.

"it's pale, infallible voice singing."