The Biggest of Lies

When you know 

that the sun will always shine, 

the wind will always blow 

whether your life 

spins out of control or 

is as placid as a lake on a summer’s day, 

you will also know that your heart 

will let your spirit and soul soar 

despite the naysayer’s surrounding you. 

And when one of those naysayers is

your own voice

telling you all that you can’t do 

let your spirit and your soul 

guide the way past that biggest of lies 

to the facts that are true.

“The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes 

to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him.”

~ Fyodor Dostoevsky, novelist

(1821 ~ 1881)

A Gift of Age

Over the years, life has been shaped 

     and reshaped always 

with an ember of belief in myself. 

Although this ember so cooled 

      with life’s vagaries, 

it never became a blackened wick. 

Only when gently sheltered and, 

  with my soul’s breath, 

did it give birth to a tiny flame.

“No one’s ever completely broken. It’s just a matter of how much 

has to fall apart before the ember of life is exposed to air.”

~ Charles Eisenstein, author

The Conductor

Orchestration of a life takes 

today, tomorrow and everyday 

with silent rays of bright sun, 

drift and clamour of storm clouds, 

dark of night pinpricked by the stars 

while seasons conduct 

the come and go of spring flowers 

trees decked out in green summer wear 

give way to the flamboyance of fall

fields of grain divided by country roads, 

snow and ice, wind and rain, 

heavy fur under coats for animals and 

heavy parkas and boots for soft bodies 

joys uplifting souls while sorrows bring

counterpoints to the orchestration of life.

“Conductors don’t suffer, they are part of the performance.”

~ Michael Tippett, composer

(1905 ~ 1998)

Good and Ordinary

My soul is quiet tonight 

after a good and ordinary day. 

The sun shone. 

The wind blew. 

The bus was on time 

both there and back. 

On my mission, I was gifted 

by the kindness of humanity 

at crosswalks and in stores. 

I saw the clouds shape and 

move in the further up wind. 

I ate my meals and fed my cat. 

All of these things made 

today special on this 

good and ordinary day. 

My soul is quiet tonight.

“…it is the sweet, simple things of life, which are the real ones after all.”

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House on the Prairie

(1857 ~ 1957)

Brush Strokes

A high and mighty wind

A broad blue canvas set higher

A palette of cloud set between

gifted a busied weekday

with strokes of genius

Lifting my sight to the sky 

I felt my heart and soul expand.

“On the canvas of life,

Every sweep of the brush matters,

Counts for something…"

~ Scott Hastie, poet

Soul Dance

Rhythmic flow ~ 

a sway and swing from the centre of our being before 

we know the dance that 

tells us that we are alive

our soul hears our rhythm

before music heals our hearts,

before despair touches shore ~

listen and feel the rhythm.

“The rhythm of life is intricate but orderly, tenacious but fragile. 

To keep that in mind is to build the key to survival.

~ Shirley Hufstedler, Judge

(1925~2016)

On the Rise

August 2024

Over a year ago, I began

a sourdough starter ~

bubbly and full of life. 

Flattened and lazy,

On the watch for 

mould or a flat taste. 

no mould appeared

taste is sharp and sour! 

What was I doing wrong? 

Too long in the cold

fed once a week! 

No reason to bubble.

    ~~~~~~~

So it is with spirit

Excitement in life 

shrinks in the cold

flattens without life 

stirred and kept warm, 

danced and out of breath

What excites me?

ideas that beg for the written word

story that stirs my soul to laughter or tears

music to tap my toes and sway my hips 

What excites your heart and mind?

“For here I hope begins our lasting joy.”

~ William Shakepeare

(Re: Sourdough restoration: I’m keeping it on the cupboard and feeding it once a day for a while until it’s back to it’s bubbly self. Maybe a week? In this cold weather, I’m not going far from home.A metaphor for life - it I keep my life in the cold)

Silent Plea

 

Intention speaks 

    

    from the soul. 

The word spoken aloud 

gives it more weight, 

        

    a reminder ~ 

a breath from the soul. 

No demand

   No insistence 

To reach out

   To grasp intention 

       To work with its weight 

brings the silent plea to life.

“Intention is the core of all conscious life. 

Conscious intention colours and moves everything.”

~ Hsing Yun, Buddhist priest

(1927 - 2023)