gratefullyyourstoday

Constellation

 He managed to push

every button in her

constellation

of many buttons. 

Now what?

 A Tangled Mess

 “It’s a tangled up mess,”

she said.

“Like a bundle of necklaces

Tied up in knots

In the back of a drawer.”

“But then again

They are jewels.”

“And I am very good at

Untangling knots

If I just take my time.”

crippled hands cutting

ribbon for the wedding brunch

a purpose again

joy seeps back into her soul

bubbling over into mine 

A Revelation

The end of grief

              lies in beginning.

 I’m going to ponder this.

              Join me, if you please.

Ode to my Border Collie

They judged her unfit

To roam on the farm,

So she made our yard

Her farm.

They deemed her incapable

Of herding sheep,

So the children,

And the cat

Became her sheep.

They did not think her fierce enough

To sleep at the sheep fold gate,

Protecting all from

The treacherous wolf,

So she slept at

My bedroom door

Protecting me instead.

She made her life what she

Knew it should be,

Paying no mind

To what they made

Of her.

A New Way

Her age, at last arresting pretense,

She acknowledged

Her daughter’s pain,

And faced her own.

Finally, she could tell the truth,

And let herself

Hear it as well.

Leaving behind

The wretched pain of pretending.

Opening for both

A new way to

To love each other.

JEHW

July 2013

OK You Turtles, I Get it Already! 

May 18 – On vacation –

Turtle on the side of the road (my road).

*Delays are temporary, rebuild your faith.

May 19 – On vacation –

Snapping turtle in the road (my road).

My husband carts it to safety.

*Continue your efforts, good news will come.

May 24 – On my way to work

Turtle in the road (my road).

I stop and carry it to safety.

*Herald of movement even through

Current pressures and struggles.

(Really now.)

June 13 – Morning walk –

Star find a turtle in the road

(Literally my road right in front of my house for heaven’s sake!)

I stop and carry it to safety.

*May indicate that our pressures are too great.

(Honestly! Do you think so?!)

June 14 – After a big storm,

My husband and I go for a rare

Walk in the park (across from my house!) –

Very large turtle on the (my!) path.

We stop and I carry to safety.

*Reminds us that we must keep digging,

We must continue no matter how sluggish and slow.

(I am growing exhausted with this message!)

June 17 – On our walk in the woods

Just before heading to Momma’s –

Turtle in our path!

I turn it around so that it can head back into safety.

*Though it doesn’t seem so,

The dawn is slowly approaching.

(Well Divine, you are sure right about the slowly part!)

June 21 – On the way to Momma’s –  

Turtle in the road.

(it seems I own all roads these days) –

Another woman stops to carry it to safety.

This squirming baby version.

(She must be the victim of turtle magic this season too –

Bless her poor heart.)

*You are slogging through a difficult terrain.

Get back to basics, one step at a time.

Use what is available.

(If I could figure out what is available, I would.)

June 24 – On the way home from the cleaners

(The CLEANERS!) –

Turtle racing across the highway (my High-way!)

Traffic too fast, I cannot possibly stop and save

The poor creature.

*Get in touch with your rhythms

They will work in the manner that is best.

Trust that you will understand this

Current water treading someday.

RELAX,

There is plenty of time to live your dreams.

Find some patience, would you please,

So that we turtles can quit throwing ourselves

In your path.

(Where are the Herons.

I want the herons back!

Their message is fluff

Compared to these

Crazy turtles!)

JEHW

Late June 2013

*Credit goes to Ted Andrews and his wonderful book

Animal –Wise

In the Morning

In the morning,

When the veil is thin

Between sleep and wakefulness,

I do my best meditating.

Or should I call it ruminating?

The committee of sleep

Has just finished

Their message delivery work –

Stories sometimes terrifyingly told

In order to ensure my attention.

This morning though,

They have chosen a gentle old friend.

One I so long to see.

In my dream she has found grace and joy

In the midst of a long slog

Through difficult terrain. 

The perfect choice to

Gently censure me this day,

While at the same time

Soothing my soul.

They are a good committee

When you learn to pay attention to their voices,

And to trust that they really do

Have something important to tell you.

JEHW

June 24, 2013

Owl Mother

 She silently watches over me

As I stand here on the

Edge of the bridge.

Before crossing over

I must

Shake off this dissonance I am suffering

At the hand of one I love so dearly.

Or is it at my own hand that I

Suffer thus.

I ask mother owl to

Show me the way

To shed this part of me

I can’t see through.

I beg her to help me find

A new connection point.

One that invites my precious in.

One that Helps her

See through her suffering

And my inadequacies

To a new place.

Through suffering to

Joyful abandon,

And

Soulful groundedness,

And

All in between.

Without fear.

Oh Mother Owl,

And all our mothers

Throughout the ages

Guide her,

Guide me,

To shift our shapes,

So that we can together

Experience the ring of love

And healing

That swirls round us.

Soften us,

Sooth us,

Bring us to that place

Of confidence and peace.

Enfolded under velvety white

Owl wings

I cross over the bridge

Remembering my own mother soul.

It will all be well

With us now.

JEHW

4/14/13

Crow Joins the Song

Rain has come

And the Reservoir has filled

To a level I have not

Seen before.

It appears that Heron has left,

Replaced now by noisy crow,

And a restless wind

Roaring through the pines.

Elegant burgundy redbud

Helps me to believe that

Winter will soon

Give way to spring.

Crow,

Wind,

Bud.

They beg me

To embrace

My own creative interplay

With the Divine.

February 2013

JEHW

A Season of Change 

All through this season of change

Blue heron watches.

We have laughed at calling her

A “herring” when

What we really mean is

Heron.

She understands this,

When others don’t.

Just as she understands

Change

When others don’t.

She has become a comforting presence

In this disquieting time.

Winter 2013

JEHW