Poetry inspires...
Words crafted with care
form images in the mind
that are imprinted on the soul.
Poetry carries us beyond the veil.
Transported between the worlds,
our spirit soars, as each word
weaves new possibilities
into the landscape of our soul.
Join Me at the Death Cafe´
Join me at the Death Cafe´.
Life runs its course here.
Death, an elegant darkness,
Unseen yet known
Waits…watches.
Come, sit at your table.
Sip tea mixed with darkness.
The kind that is beautifully infused
with deep blue, magenta and turquoise light.
Find solace in silence.
Mingle with old and new friends
as fear dissolves.
This is a transition place. A thin space.
The veil between the worlds
glistens like 24 carat gold lace
catching sunlight in the morning.
Reminiscing abounds
as time becomes elusive,
breath is priceless, and
the body becomes a fragile vessel
as the soul prepares to depart.
Notice the moon
shimmering in the dark.
Moonlight shimmers on your face
as you dance with darkness
In the corridors of your mind.
Hold on for balance
as you glide across the floor.
Remember love, pure and true.
Release fear and sadness.
Allow everything that rises up.
All of it. This is not the time to hold back.
Take the microphone,
step onto the stage, and
tell the stories of your life.
There is uncommon beauty
in the shards of a life well lived.
Piece them together.
Form them into the mosaic of you.
Only you can speak the story of you.
Don’t let anyone else hold the microphone.
You will feel fragile here.
as Death whispers in your ear,
“Remember, RE-MEMBER, Come.”
You see, Death knows the beauty
that exists beyond this moment.
Death is not afraid and should not be feared.
Rather, Death is
the midwife of the soul, a loving guide.
As you depart this dear body,
your soul is set free.
The transition is seamless.
All is made new.
Rejoicing abounds in the ethers
as ancestors welcome you!
Join me at the Death Cafe´.
Country Condor.
Powerful sky spirit
Circling in formation,
Visioning a sky burial rite
For those seen below.
Endings and beginnings.
The nuances of life
Are known to you…
The wisdom of cleaning
And curating the land,
Eating in benevolence
that which is already dead.
Take courage dear condor
As you spread your wings wide,
And your power takes flight.
Country Condor
Your bald head reminds me
That beauty and emotion
Often manifest itself in
Wrinkles and baldness.
Nest up high dear one.
Draw near Heaven’s Gate.
Teach me to surf
the currents in the sky,
Expanding beyond
My limitations.
Teach me the mystery
of life and death
seen for miles
through your eyes.
(photo by Gus Martinie)
Trust the journey
Divine graciousness lives the message
Of togetherness, peace, and love.
Open your heart.
Open your mind.
Courageously prophesy,
Trusting the journey
By actions
And when necessary
With words spoken in Love.
Kindom Come.
Be ushered in
In Love
From my roots
To yours.
Be ushered in
In Love.
…the kind of Love
That has fingers
And feet
And tendrils
Of mycelium
Connecting
All that is.
Embody a wordless story.
Re-Story the unknown
With lovingkindness, peace and hope
In the mycelium of our hearts,
In the tendrils of our souls,
So that hearts touch on tips of fingers
As we pass the peace
Of our Mother’s Mothers
To generations not yet born.
In a world that separates,
We connect.
A primal beloved gift
Of contraband communion
Shared through a wall
That seeks to separate
But can not.
You see, as we look up
We see the same sky
And beneath us
Mycelium connect us
Through the Earth
Under our feet…
Kin across manmade borders
We are touched
into existence
…a touch through a wall.
Touch fingertips
And Re-Story
The primal gift
Of kindom
Without walls.
May it be ushered in
In Love.
Amen.
(In gratitude for communion shared through a border wall. AP Photo/David Maung)
Nature’s Symphony Chorus
Natures Symphony Chorus
Fills me with delight
As the scent of jasmine
Wafts across the landscape
Of my mind.
A new day dawns.
birds greet the sunrise
With melody born of instinct
And wonderment.
I awaken to their song.
White-winged doves and mourning doves
carry the bass notes
While western kingbirds,
Baltimore and Bullocks orioles chime in
Their chirps and high calls
Bring complexity to the whole.
American robins, house finches,
sparrows and Carolina wrens
Sing the chorus while
Mockingbirds hop from part to part
Filling the in-between spaces with their song.
Northern cardinals and
Western kingbirds bring precision
Staccato notes
Capturing one's attention
In key moments of unexpected crescendo.
A red-eyed viriole sings soprano
Its high piercing song,
lovely and light
Lilts over the top
Adding vibrant tones…
Nature's liturgical dance.
Tiny hummingbirds
Sing grace notes
Filling me with bliss.
Vibrant sounds
From one so small.
Chimney swifts
Conduct the Symphony
Swooping in splendor
Across the sky
Two by two.
A new day dawns.
birds greet the sunrise
With melody born of instinct
And wonderment.
I awaken to their song.
The scent of jasmine
Wafts across the landscape
Of my mind.
Natures Symphony Chorus
Fills me with delight.
I want a sweet messy kind of love.
Faithful and true.
Filled with laughter and tears.
Wet cheeks, runny nose, and all.
A relationship riding the waves and currents of life.
Happy tears and deep sorrow merge in the recess of my mind.
Tears and tears from vastly different sources yet equally potent
Forge bonds of love in the fires of life.
Lighthearted in good times
Steadfast when things fall apart
Always there, a sure presence, deeply knowing and known.
I want a sweet, messy kind of love.
Brigid, keeper of thresholds,
Protect this crossing
With the purity of your love.
I cross with intention
From what was to what is,
Knowing full well, I can not go back.
Forward, ever forward
Toward hope and possibilities, I go,
Writing the future with each step.
Send your oystercatchers
To show me the way
To the goodness of Divine presence.
Ignite the fire within me.
May it shine so brightly
The flames illumine my being.
Transform this weary heart.
Gift the present moment
With grace, goodness, and love.
Amen
Womb of Love
I am tethered to you,
Illumined by your grace.
Like an umbilical cord,
Your sacred thread
nourishes my soul.
I am like a lotus unfolding.
My soul blooms
As everything
I know falls away
Except the fragrance of you.
Breathing in your aroma,
Your sacred thread touches
The place of purity
in me where you reside.
Shimmering cord…
Return me to the womb of Love.
Mary, Love…
the Teacher is near.
Claim your place at his feet
With perfume and nard in hand.
Your way of being
Opens your soul.
Unafraid to confront the truth,
You offer meaning with oil.
Do you know
Or are you simply following
The call of your heart
That takes you beyond
What your eyes can see?
Mary, Love…
your beloved is near.
He has to go there.
He will not turn away.
Your heart knows.
His Death has a fragrance,
Beautiful in its Divinity.
Frankincense and Myrrh
Mix with the nard.
Intoxicating fragrance soothes your soul.
Mary, Love…
His journey enters your soul
Your heart comprehends
The magnitude.
Your mind and body prepare to accompany him
Through Death’s door and beyond.
Trusting what is unseen.
Trusting Him. Knowing who he is.
It begins with great cost,
Precious spikenard.
Your hair prepares his skin
To endure the pain.
Your heart breaks open…
Love pours out…
Salty tears mixed with oil,
Preserving, embalming,
As you step into Death with him.
You will find courage beyond fear.
Mary, Love…
rooted in the real,
Tender anticipation awaits your touch.
3-28-23
Lost is a Place Too
I am in a place
Called Lost.
A confluence of unrelated, intertwined
Events brought me here
Past the brink of the known.
I do not want to be here.
I try to claw my way out
To no avail.
Lost feels scary to me.
I look in all directions
Trying to decide
which way to run.
My legs are leaden.
Breath eludes me.
Immobilized, I feel the weight of loss.
Loss carries the baggage of a lifetime
Stuffed in one bag I grabbed
as I left the known.
I carry the memories
as long as I can,
tightening my grip on the known.
Finally, I can’t bear it anymore…
The known slips away.
Though lighter, I am lost.
I set a cairn
And remember
Lost is a place too.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hold on tight
Til your knuckles turn white.
Don’t let go.
There is comfort in the known.
Hold on til you
Lose your grasp.
Feel the known slip away.
Wait, wait….wait.
Feel the longing of loss
That moment
when breath escapes you.
Lost is a place too.
Open to possibilities yet unseen.
Wait in the unknown.
Finding arrives
When you least expect it.
Celebrate
Feel sheer delight.
Sing, dance, live, love!
Try not to hold on too tight.
Remember…
Lost is a place too.
May you be blessed
With enough.
May you be blessed
With goodness each day.
May you find your way
To compassion and gratitude.
In moments of abundance,
May you be a blessing to others.
In moments of lack,
May your path be filled with friends.
Lean in to the rhythm of each day.
Notice the joy inherent in Nature.
Awaken with the birds
Who sing prayers filled with delight
At the dawning of a new day.
Lean in to the shifting light
At the hinge-point of each day.
May you be blessed with a full life.
May you live true to your own path…
The one you create as you move through each day.
May you be blessed.
Always.
This comes with love on wings of a crow in flight,
Mary Ann
Ash Wednesday
When the ashes
of your life
are strewn about,
dispersed to the ends
of the earth,
ego dissolves
into humility
as you kneel
your life spent.
How do you pick up the ashes?
Hands dusty,
black with soot
Mark an imprint
on the forehead
of your soul.
Who knows?
Who Knows.
When the ashes
of your life
are strewn about,
dispersed to the ends
of the earth,
Can you even begin
to pick them up?
Do you really want to?
Or is it better
to walk through them,
to live anew?
Leave the ashes
of the past.
Step through
the threshold
Of the present moment.
Create the path
As you walk toward
Presence, possibilities,
and a future
laced with hope.
Breathe Peace
Into the energetic
Flow of life
Be the peace
That you desire
Color the air
With prismatic love
When love comes
To a heart
It changes one’s perspective
On life and being ness
Shine the rays of love
As if you were the sun
Illuminate your field
So flowers grow
An abundant crop of goodness
When love comes to your heart
It is like a violin’s strum
Vibrations echo and reverberate
Settling deep in your soul
When the sun reaches your heart
It comes in as a big smile
That enlivens your universe
A Collaborative Poem by
Chloe, GiGi and Pop Pop
I am from
English Breakfast Tea,
Gently sweetened,
White with cream.
I am from
A big brown
Rocking chair
Where I listened
As my dad read me books.
I was held in his arms of love
In the moments before sleep.
A ritual of love,
a 360 degree spinning sanctuary
For my soul.
I am from
Redwoods and mists
Imprinted on my soul.
Their scent and colors
Linger still in the recesses of my mind
Ever present, ever living,
loving, witnessing
This lifetime and the timeless place…
The before and the after,
Presence in all moments
Where time becomes meaningless
And souls take flight
Like condors
stretching out their wings
Stepping in to air,
Knowing they are supported
by that which is not seen
But can be felt and known.
I Want to Be Like the Moon
I want to be like the moon
On a sunny day
Delicate white
Surrounded by cerulean blue sky.
I want to be the unexpected,
A blessing that reminds souls
To look beyond the ordinary
To the serendipitous in life.
I want to be like the moon
Reflecting light
into a world
That needs illumination.
I want to be like the moon.
Nature’s Symphony Chorus
Natures Symphony Chorus
Fills me with delight
As the scent of jasmine
Wafts across the landscape
Of my mind.
A new day dawns.
birds greet the sunrise
With melody born of instinct
And wonderment.
I awaken to their song.
White-winged doves and mourning doves
carry the bass notes
While western kingbirds,
Baltimore and Bullocks orioles chime in
Their chirps and high calls
Bring complexity to the whole.
American robins, house finches,
sparrows and Carolina wrens
Sing the chorus while
Mockingbirds hop from part to part
Filling the in-between spaces with their song.
Northern cardinals and
Western kingbirds bring precision
Staccato notes
Capturing one's attention
In key moments of unexpected crescendo.
A red-eyed viriole sings soprano
Its high piercing song,
lovely and light
Lilts over the top
Adding vibrant tones…
Nature's liturgical dance.
Tiny hummingbirds
Sing grace notes
Filling me with bliss.
Vibrant sounds
From one so small.
Chimney swifts
Conduct the Symphony
Swooping in splendor
Across the sky
Two by two.
A new day dawns.
birds greet the sunrise
With melody born of instinct
And wonderment.
I awaken to their song.
The scent of jasmine
Wafts across the landscape
Of my mind.
Natures Symphony Chorus
Fills me with delight.
Womb of Love
I am tethered to you,
Illumined by your grace.
Like an umbilical cord,
Your sacred thread
nourishes my soul.
I am like a lotus unfolding.
My soul blooms
As everything
I know falls away
Except the fragrance of you.
Breathing in your aroma,
Your sacred thread touches
The place of purity
in me where you reside.
Shimmering cord…
Return me to the womb of Love.
You are loved
The spaciousness
We grant others
Is in direct proportion
To the spaciousness
We grant ourselves.
Buddha reminds us
We don’t really see
What is outside ourselves
We see what is inside
And project it onto others
We see things as WE are.
We bless others
When we become aware
That we are truly loved
And lovable…
We are the Great Mother’s
Beloved child.
In the way that a grandmother
Is filled with delight
In the presence of a grandchild,
The Divine One overflows
With love and acceptance
Of you as you are right now.
You are loved…
You are the beloved.
Know this in your being.
Feel this in your heart
And let love flow
Through you
To those you meet
This day.
May it be in me.
May it be in you.
Amen
To Depart on Such a Day
Why does death feel more sad on these days?
Why does death evoke a deeper sadness
On Halloween or Dia de los Muertos
Or All Saints Day or All Souls Day?
We gather to honor the ancestors
of birth and blood, of choice, and love on these days…
Family, friends, wise teachers who have left this life.
A sweet remembrance each year
Of lives well lived. Of love felt, tender and true.
We seek wisdom for our journey,
comfort in knowing and being known.
To depart on such a day
Feels profoundly sorrowful
yet inexplicably sacred.
We honor those who have crossed the veil
At this time of year
with flowers, photos, candles, favorite foods,
touchstones of life help us remember them in death.
These are raw, holy…wholly sacred days in which
We embody vulnerability mixed with fond memories
As we reach across the veil,
hoping our loved ones reach back
To grasp our hand if even for a moment.
But, what about those
who depart amid this time
When the veil is oh so thin?
We want to reach
through the veil to pull them back
Into this world but we cannot.
Grief reaches the core of our being…
A sucker punch from the universe.
This day…
These days will never be the same.
for Carla 11-2-22
Poetry Inspires…
Poetry Inspires…