“Poetry is a life-cherishing force.
For poems are not words, after all,
but fires for the cold,
ropes let down to the lost,
something as necessary as bread
in the pockets of the hungry.
Yes indeed.” ~Mary Oliver
Our poem which is Infinite
(A love poem for my husband)
Tonight your words draw me back
into the poem in which we are living.
It is a rich and merciful poem
and it spins its warm story around us
drawing our bodies down
into the urgency of our belonging.
How is it that we, neither holy nor wise,
could live in this beautiful poem?
It is the fire we tend with our kindling,
the table we cover with bread,
the altar we make bare for offerings,
the pitcher we empty and fill.
~Ingrid Goff-Maidoff
This week I have been savoring Kim Rosen’s Book, Saved by a Poem. If you love poetry, even if you fear poetry, this is a beautiful invitation to enrich your life through poems. I am tongue-tied, in awe, and cannot recommend her work highly enough.
“Such blessings we receive, such gifts of grace.
If we have wandered from the path of gladness,
point us back to life!”
~Ingrid Goff-Maidoff
Happy Thanksgiving to all. As is my habit, here are some excerpts from my book, Simple Graces for EveryMeal. I penned these graces in hopes that they would be comfortable and inspiring in all kinds of company. Joy to you this holiday season, Ingrid
Let us join together
in the sweetness of this hour
with full and thankful hearts;
thoughtful and generous minds.
~
We are gathered together
in a circle of plenty,
a circle of love, and a circle of light.
With peaceful hearts, we welcome each other.
With grateful hearts, we give thanks.
~
With joy and reverence we give thanks
for the wondrous power of growing things,
and for the sustenance our lives receive
from the beauty of the earth
and the fellowship of all beings.
~
Life that gives us life, we thank you.
To all who live on Martha’s Vineyard: The Bunch of Grapes Bookstore in Vineyard Haven has honored me with a lovely display. I am very grateful to have a year round outlet for my work there. I’ll also be at the Artisan’s Fair on Friday and Saturday this week, so please come! And my work is available at the Holiday Cooperative Shop on Main Street in Vineyard Haven (near Leslie’s).
I am just as ecstatic as they are,
but with nothing to say!
Please, universal soul, practice
some song, or something, through me!”
~Rumi, from Birdsong, translations of Coleman Barks
I stumbled across Rumi’s poem this week, and it captures my sentiments exactly. In autumn, my attention often turns from the manufacture of books to the writing of them. I long to sit, idle, and have poems come tumbling in. I long to wander the landscape in intimate conversation with the soul of the world. And sometimes I do.
Last week I sorted through all of my starts and false starts ~ scribbled notebooks, interrupted reverie- to harvest a few poems if I could find them. I tore out the complaints, tossing many pages entirely. I had a splendid fire in the outdoor pizza oven. To release the old; the unsatisfactory; the ineffective; the mediocrity….I could go on. It was exhilarating to turn the burning pages with a spade, feeling the heat on my face. It felt wonderful to let it all go in plumes of ashes and smoke.
Now I am ready, open, and empty- longing for the universal soul to practice some song, or something, through me.
Beloved is one of my names for the divine spacious presence I carry in my heart and whose eternal and infinite presence holds me also.I’ve glimpsed myBeloved, and often.And forgotten my Beloved as often as not.It is a strange dream, this living. A strange dream and a holy pursuit- full of beauty, love, longing and belonging.What I long for is this: The joy of awakening over and again to find myself in the arms of the day; to awaken and say, “Hello my Beloved.Hello my Beloved which is everywhere.” ~Ingrid, From The Joy Book
To write about coming home may seem odd for a gal who hasn’t been away anywhere, yet that’s how these days feel - as if I am home again after a long while. I am slowing down, easing into autumn after the summer whirl- a whirl in which it feels as if I went from the basement studio, where I assemble my books and wares, to the old Grange hall where I sell them. As I slow down I begin to notice things and therefore to enjoy them - like the way the setting sun lit up Kwan Yin’s face the other night. And my gosh the fish are vibrant and healthy.
I’ve brought the plants in, and they make the house feel so cheery and alive.
I’ve even been taking the time to hang out the laundry. It’s a pleasure and a privilege not to rush. How is it that my “to do” list is so long, and my “to be” list is so short? To be less hurried, more loving, happy, peaceful, at ease….
Another quality of feeling at home is the sense of resting in belonging- of venturing out into the arms of the day that I feel when I head out on a walk somewhere. Here, the fields of Tea Lane farm are so beautiful.
The evening light filtering through the woods; the stone walls; the occasional deer- all remind me somehow of the hidden world of the soul, and the unhidden world which is right here, to be noticed, savored and enjoyed at any moment… as soon as I remember to slow myself down and to come home.
May all beings be well.
May all beings be free from suffering.
May all beings be peaceful and at ease.
May all beings know love and belonging…
I’ve always loved to see birds on a wire, and often thought that they looked like musical notes. This lovely little video explores this idea in a beautiful way. I saw this at the blog, Superherodesigns while I was enjoying myself the other day. It’s by Jarbas Agnelli, who wrote:
“Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). I knew it wasn’t the most original idea in the universe. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.
I sent the music to the photographer, Paulo Pinto, who I Googled on the internet. He told his editor, who told a reporter and the story ended up as an interview in the very same newspaper.
Music made with Logic.
Video made with After Effects.”
“Such blessings we receive,
“Birdsong brings relief
