from the book What Holds Us, New and Selected Poems
I wrote this poem shortly after 9-11, when I was feeling stunned and unsure of what we are meant to do in our ordinary and yet sacred lives- with such turmoil in the world.
Sometimes the first line is missed in the playing of the slideshow (shoot!) It is: “I hung hope out with the laundry…clothes-pinned tenderly beside a pillow case and two sheets. I could tell she needed air, a sweet puff of wind…”
Take a moment
to follow your breath.
Breathe in Peace,
Breathe out Love.
Breathe in Peace,
Breathe out Love.
Breathe in Love,
Breathe out Peace.
Breathe in Love,
Breathe out Peace.
Allow yourself to be nourished
and awakened by this simple
practice often.
from the book, Good Mother, Welcome
We brought our daughter Rose to college this week. I am so proud of her and excited, and well aware that she is in the perfect place for the next beautiful chapter of her life. I knew the drop off wouldn’t be easy, as we are a very close-knit family. What I didn’t anticipate was the flood of memory that would overtake me for the next few days. Yes, I miss the eighteen year old, but even more I miss the childhood. The sweet smile, blond curls, bare feet dancing across the kitchen floor… costumes… These days I feel a bit swamped with nostalgia. I am far from here, in another time. It’s very warm, love-filled, and a bit teary.
I blame it on the summer whirl- that my latest Joy post-card contained a typo. It’s a small thing really: too many of the word “for”, when the word “to” was intended. As a poet, I am disconcerted. The lines don’t sound pleasing; the repetition is jarring- the blessing becomes much less somehow, and easily dismissed. And so, here it is as it is written in my book, Eternal Song, Blessings for the Path o f Love.
BLESSING
Do good things for each other ~
small kindnesses every day.
Be a comfort to each other ~
a calm shore for turbulent times.
Be good friends to each other ~
remain compassionate and tender.
Lend a thoughtful ear, a gentle shoulder,
an open heart, and a strong hand.
And do good things for each other.
Thank you!
Ingrid