I think just like about everyone else in the world this past year, my thoughts have been more fragmented. There has been a LOT going on! Especially so personally as I’ve been working and studying at the same time.
While writing is good, even cathartic, for my soul, my words have become less and had left me a bit parched (especially after writing long papers for my study!). But the sometimes slower pace of life, especially during lockdowns, has given me a chance to be present and connect with my inner world in ways more than I have for years.
And this has brought me back to my love of poetry.
What is it about a poem that says in one page such a huge story? It’s a pared down connection to the Great Conversation of life that often says more simply by being less. It gets to the heart of the matter in a way that leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions and have their own response to the words.
Powerful stuff.
I’ve been reading quite a bit of my favourite modern poet, Liezel Graham, who often writes from a supporting mental health perspective that has challenged me to do the same. That’s obviously close to my heart, too, since that’s what my studies are about!
I’m currently reading Devotions a collection of Mary Oliver’s poems. They’re stunning and I’ve been absorbing them a few pages at a time.
Someone asked me yesterday if I was still blogging and after I said, “Ummm nah, I haven’t for a while,” it reminded me that I still DO have a blog and I might as well start sharing some poems. (I might write other stuff, too. Who knows?)
Hope is a huge theme for me, so I have picked this first one to share because, just like the tattoo on one of my daughter’s shoulders says, “There is always hope.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the terrible night of our souls, when senses only find storm
We long to dull those senses, block out the pain
Roll into fetal— protect
But even though it hurts, more than we think we can bear
If we keep open our eyes, if only to squint
And take our hands from our ears, every now and again
We might be surprised
Because pain, the offender, doesn’t journey alone
Whether he brings them, or they have grasped onto him fierce
As if to say, “There is always hope.” There are gems
Things to refresh, like a cup of cold water to parched
A lucky find, they wait to be gathered
Things like healing, and life might be worth living, and kindness
If we grasp them in our hands to keep our ears uncovered
We might just begin to hear the song, under the surface, but louder grows
Of dreams, and longings, and the hope of beautiful things
That feed our soul in the darkness, instruct us in the deeper things of life
Until dawn
And beyond
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
©Heather Pound 2021.
Heather Pound 