My mind is ablaze –
ideas churning
vying for recognition –
greed is ego’s bane
hogs the spotlight
but other thoughts stir
gentler, more insightful –
will remain in shadow
till a quorum empowers
artful expression.
(This poem is from Twitter @Vjknutson. I’m linking it up with Reena’s Exploration challenge which is the featured image. Photo credit: Daniel Salmieri.)
What will be written
in the aftermath –
so much owing,
so little justification.
Upended anxiety –
regal anticipations
shattered by cancer –
yes, life is a teacher
No matter,
if we survive –
but where to go then
Earth’s riches exploited
Commitments crumbled –
confess we have Father issues
but it’s time to emerge,
step forward, take the lead
What follows contentment
battled, passive crosses borne,
paths with no clear direction,
doubt as ante?
Hubs are shattered –
we are spokes with no centre –
pray the last book written
is reconstructive.
(Inspired by a dream, and combined with the prompt from Reena’s Exploration: The Last Book on Planet Earth. Image from personal collection.)
Following political tides –
mesmerized by neglect
of actual issues – playing
to an audience of moaners
(standard consumerist
plights) – glossing over
exploitation of women,
verbal slaughter of race,
religion and social values.
Wondering about media –
who commandeer bias,
swallowing atrocities and
spewing contrived truths,
absent sound voice, or will,
jeopardizing the security
of so many trampled in
the race for what? Surely
not responsibility – what
lapse of conscience has
allowed hateful rhetoric
to bloody progress, no
consequences? Â Who will
bear the burden when in
the absence of morality
or respect for humanity,
the margins will increase?
The world quakes at the
failure to acknowledge
this broken path, see only
a devaluation of assets,
perceive a race that did
no more than increase
the monarchy of a king,
grant power to absolve
sins – a sleight-of-hand
trick – nothing to do with
the common habitants –
have so many questions
about how they’ll proceed.
(First penned in November of 2016, I am resubmitting this piece for Reena’s Exploration challenge#120. Image from personal collection.)
What harbinger is this
and why am I not convinced?
Cynicism wants concretes,
feeds complaints,
exaggerates,
retreats
Need to confront
this wall-building,
fight to retain
Spirit’s message –
deescalate fear’s grip.
(For Reena’s Exploration challenge#119. Image from personal collection.)
Set me on a lonely road
and I will shine –
solitude a strength
And yet, I have an inner pull,
a need for connection,
a longing for depths of love.
But what of these dreams –
do relationships deter direction,
and must I always wait on another?
Intimacy is complicated,
the route undefined,
I am chilled, fatigued
How does the heart decide
when love challenges
arrogance, and fear takes hold?
(Connecting to Eugi’s Weekly prompt: complicated, and Reena’s Exploration Challenge – featured image.)
Was that really me
fought for feminine rights,
eleven-years-old
persistent to the win?
And was that me
lied about her age
strapped on work clothes
bore responsibility?
And did you know her
that obstinate teen
who defied tradition
and chased an education?
Where did she go,
a faint memory now,
how life tamed her,
taught her subservience
to bury her light
in the shadow of men’s
dreams, that toil should be
selfless, and love for other.
Listen, and you will hear
her echo, faint but growing,
the sound of a mind burning,
the laughter of a soul on fire.
(For Reena’s Exploration challenge: Was that really me?, and Eugi’s Weekly prompt: laughter. Image from personal collection.)
Flagrant this disregard,
this blatant indifference
I have come before you
broken and desperate
and been received with
loving compassion, openness.
“It was not I who abandoned you” –
the words still echo in my heart.
In shame, I hang head, vow
to prepare my spiritual bowl
to resurrect a prayerful practice
to know once again the light,
the life that fulfills when
self is offered up as instrument.
(Ragtag community has offered the word “flagrant” as prompt today. I have been carrying around scraps of ideas for Reena’s Exploration challenge – featured image. This poem emerged. I do not consider myself affiliated with a specific religious body, but I do consider myself a woman of deep spiritual faith.)
Novice, a word that negates
experience, knowledge, merit –
capability under suspicion.
I novice myself frequently,
as if vulnerability is a sideline
and humility commands denigration.
A tired and weary state –
yes, this is me, new and willing
to learn, but I am not novice.
So before you judge, adjust
your professional spectacles,
snub my potential, hear this:
Value is immeasurable –
unique contributions
enhance collective offerings.
(Reena’s Exploration challenge this week is based on “The Story of An Hour” which challenges us to examine our life and limitations. I dream over and over again that I have returned to teaching only to find that the years I have put in have been negated by my absence and I have to begin again. Starting over is not a new theme in my life, but my attitude about is finally changing, as represented in the poem. Image from personal collection.)
I loathe The Man
whose power bulges
out of waistbands,
whose double chins
wag double talk,
who equates dollars
with immunity,
claims superiority.
Whose dominance
intimidates, so I
duck out of the way,
bite my tongue,
refrain from speaking,
cower in the face
of injustice.
Who, I ask,
is the more evil?
(Reena’s Exploration Challenge this week asks us to respond to the words of Wendell Berry’s Questionnaire. I chose to respond to question #2: “For the sake of goodness, how much evil are you willing to do? “)
Cocooned, I am
enclosed, secure
shut down
Ignore initial
stirring –
like a skipped
heartbeat
Convinced
this retreat
is cemented
Have had enough
life too harsh
soul too sensitive
and yet, there it is
again – gathering
momentum uninvited
sensations, emotions
morphing into words
commanding expression
growing wings,
battering my barriers
flocking towards light
poems emerge
and I am stripped naked
exposed once again.
(Inspired by the prompts of Ragtag Community: stir, and Reena’s Exploration Challenge who provided the featured image.)
One Woman's Quest 