In increments
we measure the rain
as if centimetres
can quantify sorrow
A falcon has chased
the birds away,
naked, a tear-stained
tree stands alone
Our hearts resonate –
arms, like branches, aching.
(Image my own)
Category: adversity
The Chase
Running –
an allegory
for strife
for recovery
for all the shards
of a blown-apart life –
this mountain, this becoming
this chest-pounding flight.
(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)
Shifting to Acceptance
In illness, I am passenger –
no matter how venturous
mind’s reach, the raw truth
is that limitations confine
This is not a sentence
for some perceived crime,
but a re-framing – attitude
shifting to acceptance
Choice becomes thoughtful –
time allows for that now –
and gratitude takes hold
in every corner of “I can”.
(Art my own)
Maybe
Maybe I just needed a new perspective –
like the famed Hanged Man of tarot –
committed to some deep, internal need,
I willed a horizontal shift; landed with intent.
Maybe it is not my legs that are disabled,
but a soul longing to escape the continual
discord of perpetual motion, a never-ending
to-do list of the success-driven persona.
Maybe there is a greater purpose for being
that is not encompassed by outer drive –
a mysterious meaning that is revealed only
in the quiet stillness in which I now dwell.
Maybe I have been called to a personal
pilgrimage – a Camino of sorts – a crusade
of spirit designed to cleanse and enlighten –
the journey is certainly arduous enough.
Maybe it is through acceptance, finally
having released a need to control, move,
achieve, accomplish that I am able to
embrace the true lessons of suffering.
Maybe this cocooning is an act of Grace
demanding surrender before the actual
transformation occurs, and I will emerge,
legless or not, winged and ready to soar.
Maybe, just maybe, this stripped down,
barren existence is not a penance for
shameful living, but a desert crossing,
offering re-alignment: hard-fought peace.
(Maybe first appeared here Feb. 2017. Image my own)
Making of a Woman
I know that abyss –
swallowed up as I was
punch-drunk on darkness
Bled as I emerged,
each reach a scrape –
there was release too
Revived now, I honour
that passage, recognize
the making of a woman.
(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknuton. Image my own.)
Addiction
His cadence is shallow –
these are familiar waters
He’ll swear the addiction
saves him from madness
Ignore the wrenching
pain in my heart…
leave to find his next fix,
another page in misery’s tome.
(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson.
Image my own)
The Leap
Freezing drizzle
and aching joints
elevate doubt
We are forging
into unknowns,
claiming change
His motivation
drive for both –
I quiet objections
Faith, I have in him
Trust, I have in process,
Hope as my beacon
Many a storm
has passed our way –
the choice is easy
Stay and rot
or risk and thrive –
hand in hand, we leap.
(Four years ago, Ric and I sold our house and all our possessions and headed south in a motor home.  Both of us had experienced life-altering medical crises, and the alternative – staying put and waiting for the next health challenge – was not appealing, so we took the leap. After two years, we returned and settled in a small community not far from family. Health continues to be an issue, but armed with the memories of our travels, we face each day grateful for our choices.)
Image my own.
Soldiers Tanka
Sacrifice belies
original plan – the young
overlook fine print
sign up for adventure -war
renders them heroes – souls torn
(Today, we remember those who have fallen – heroes of war.
Photo mine)
Disillusioned
How did this chasm,
this canyon of lies
become our normal?
Facts, once the sword
of intellect, redundant –
we fight with hyperbole
Voices raised, egos puffed –
I long for calm, doubt
we have the wherewithal
to bridge the divide.
(Image my own)
Rock Pool
Is it the stillness
of the rock pool
that draws me
again and again?
Authority eludes –
is not my own –
I dodge hawk-eyed
critics, am weighted
down…struggling
to resurface…
Crave tranquil
company, a chance
to breathe…
unseen…
Nature always the key
(Image my own)
One Woman's Quest 