Invitation to Poetry: Always We Begin Again
June 29, 2009 · by Christine
Welcome to our 37th Poetry Party!
I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your poems or other reflections. Add them in the comments section and a link to your blog (if you have one). Make sure to check the comments for new poems added and I encourage you to leave encouraging comments for each other either here or at the poet’s own blog. (I was using Mister Linky before but it started slowing down the loading of my pages drastically, so please leave your poems and links in the comments).
Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog if you have one and encourage others to come join the party! (permission is granted to reprint the image if a link is provided back to this post)
On Friday, July 3rd, I will draw a name at random from those who participate and send the winner a signed copy of my newest zine: Sacred Poetry: An Invitation to Write (which will ship out by Monday, July 6th and you can pre-order for your own copy for the discounted price of $12.50)!
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Theme: Always We Begin Again
I spent this past weekend with my Oblate community at St. Placid Priory. It was our annual retreat and this year I helped Sister Lucy facilitate on the theme of “Always we begin again” which is a line from the Rule of St. Benedict. One of the vows in Benedictine life is conversion which is essentially a commitment to ongoing transformation and recoginizing that we never fully arrive at the destination, we are always on a journey.
I took this photo while up on the Canadian coast last week. At low tide one day I wandered the beach gathering stones and creating cairns, carefully balancing one stone upon another. It became a meditation on my life. For me Benedictine practice is at heart about living my life in a renewing balance between solitude and community, between silence and conversation, between work and prayer, between all the elements of my life that demand attention and energy. I have returned from this retreat renewed in energy, focus, and commitment to my Benedictine practices. I am ready to begin again.
We are half way through the year, so I invite you to take this opportunity to pause and reflect where you are being called to begin again. Write a poem about your longing for balance or the places where you seek renewal.
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© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts
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Posted in Poetry Party Invitation | 26 Comments »
June 29th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
ABLUTIONS
in loving response to Christine’s “I took this photo while up on the Canadian coast last week. At low tide one day I wandered the beach gathering stones and creating cairns…”
by Otagaki Rengetsu (1791-1875):
In this world
People from all walks of life
Go to the shallows of a stream
And perform ablutions
To purify their minds.
- submitted by kigen
June 29th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
And God said:
‘Child, do no not despair.
The boulder you call albatross
is the anchor I ordain life –
a beacon declaring
you are here; reminding you
I AM here.
Gather stones.
Place Ebenezers.
Name them gratitude, joy , peace.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Begin.
Again.’
June 29th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Seeking balance
Within and without.
Sliding, moving
Finding the still-point
Amidst the voices that would tell me
I am on the wrong path
I walk
knowing I am guided
Balanced
on the edge of something wonderous
- Deborah S.
June 29th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Balanced and Ready
Poised and steady,
Balanced and ready,
Standing on the shore,
Leaning to the fore,
Desiring more,
Poised,
Steady,
Balanced,
Ready.
June 29th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
sacred circle
the air crackles with the
energy of a storm to come
as preparations are made
for a calling of vigor
entering places and
crossing borders
tongues of flame dance
as spirit is renewed and
replenished once again
after heart-breaking
work in the desolation
of the desert
the rhythm of the sea
flows in and flows out
washing away the dusty
remnants of that past trek
revealing jewels
carved in stone and shell
new creations birthed
in the spectacle of the cosmos
diversity of shape and color
love and desire
with the texture and smell
of the ground of all being
Terri Stewart
June 29th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
And here on this spot you have put the stone.
As noah clunked a moutain top
As Abraham went back to Ishmael.
In marriage finding that piece
that held power to fit two together
now we must begin again.
The tide is swift.
June 30th, 2009 at 6:38 am
Not a poem, but a wondrous thought from a card I received years ago:
“Falling down is not a problem…as long as you get up one more time than you fall.”
June 30th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Start Again…..
I wonder how many times I’m gonna have to start over?
Am I making any progress at all?
I’m told this growth spirals inward & upward…
But it looks alot like standing still through my eyes.
I’m tired of myself with my same old friggin’ problems.
Do you see any change in me?
Do the angels celebrate my victories,
or sit dejected wondering if I’ll ever learn?
But something moves within the inner chambers of stillness,
Almost invisible, hardly discernible,
like a leaf quivering gently in the breeze.
My heart trembles to hold the hand of Wild Christ
and walk barefoot together….
I feel like such a fool, always worrying and fretting,
In the midst of grace-filled miracles.
I stumble awkwardly, embarrassed to be so human.
The angels giggle; and Jesus smiles….
We start again…..
June 30th, 2009 at 7:52 am
A pile of stones
my very own cairn
it gave me joy
so much inspiritation
all i did was spend some time doing it
and give it my full attention
just like a child
basking in glory of love
my cairn looking beautiful and wonderous
the echo of waves
the crispy wind
my proud work
what a perk!
i feel so blessed
i feel so renewd
it was all i could ever want.
June 30th, 2009 at 9:32 am
how many times
our foundations fail
tumble us back down onto the rocky shores
but always we begin
again
recovering from the fall
placing the bedrock of our faith
in a steadying place
again
then hoisting ourselves up
reaching higher and higher
with our intentions
our longing
our quest to free ourselves
from all gravitational pull
to know the ascendance of spirit
into the bright reaches of the day
June 30th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
A haibun
In early spring we put up two bird houses in the willing bark of some ponderosa pines. And having asked God to bring eager newlywed bluebirds to one or both, we placed our hearts by the window and waited. When the electric-blue wing of the Mountain man came, our breath caught. When his swelling bride ferried mouthfuls of our mulch into one of the waiting vacancies, our chests gave way to a slight heave of sighing. Mama laid four eggs. All but one baby died. Its downy-feathered frame davening most evenings now inside the temple of branches closest to the suet. Bluebirds don’t mourn their children’s death as far as we can tell. They leave the grieving over what is lost to people like us. Within a week the couple abandoned their first home, to lay their hopes in the second. Our breath caught. Our chests gave way to sighing.
again and again the well
always filling
always full.
June 30th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Before the Harvest Comes
For each time of growth -
each renewal of life in me,
new rows are furrowed:
preparing for the coming seed
that they might grow well.
Hard stone is surfaced -
brought up from below the rich soil:
its harshness hinders -
stunts – the new life sending out roots,
wilting tender growth.
Twelve stones are arranged -
stacked together in firm order:
pillar of hard stone.
Are the stones a mountain altar
a death to falsehood?
Twelve stones are arranged -
stacked together in firm order:
pillar of hard stone.
Are the stones submerged memorial
of river crossing?
Both are renewed living.
Both give life to my planted seeds.
Removed obstacles,
or sown seeds in new-turned earth -
end result is life!
June 30th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Some quick responses dear poet friends, as I am in the midst of a pile of work!
kigen, thank you — I love the image of ablutions!
Carolyn, I love the invocation of your poem, a transformation of vision being called upon.
Deb, such a wonderful image of being guided toward something beyond our own great imagining.
Terri, you take us on both a minute and infinite journey with your words. “the ground of all being” – I can smell the sacred earthiness.
Tom, you are able to traverse a long distance in a short space. I love that last line.
Cindy, thanks for the quote — very true!
Shelley, such honest words! I love the image of “Wild Christ.”
shraddha, thank you for your offering, so appropriate to just marvel at what one can do.
Jan, lovely words, I especially love those last two ascendant lines.
Laure, what an incredible journey you offer here, full of grief and hope.
Grady, I love the narrative of your poem and the questions you pose about the nature of the stones.
July 1st, 2009 at 7:35 am
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time. ” t.s. elliot (found at “inspired”)
always we begin again! xoxoxo
July 1st, 2009 at 2:36 pm
so often in
my
life
I have craved a
new
beginning,
failing
to
see
that each
day,
each
moment
holds
fresh
promises…
when
all my
strivings
come
to
naught,
when my
plans
are thwarted,
or must
be
abandoned…
when firm
seeming
foundations
give way
all
is
not
lost
for
once
again,
you call
me
to
begin
again!
help me
to
hear
your
voice….
July 1st, 2009 at 3:36 pm
a cairn of rocks
reminder both present and future
are balanced upon the past
by Rebecca
July 1st, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Beginner’s mind
is nothing more than
waking each moment
as if asleep
stretching and yawning and
doing the Downward Dog
in the sunlight.
Only then to crawl back into
our cozy bed again and
sleep, perchance to dream
of waking and doing a full Sun Salute.
July 2nd, 2009 at 4:48 am
Here is a haiku for this week’s Poetry Party. I love the whimsy and wisdom of this cairn! Thank you for these in your self, Christine!
Mere pile of stones
Lifted up from big to small
Pyramid of need.
by Martha Louise Harkness
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
on the shore
on the shore
between land and water
your body
an inert slab of flesh
struck down by the past year’s griefs
tongue hanging out
heart hanging, clawed out
not even the wild dogs
bother to sniff this log
but gently, inevitably
the soft hands of tiny waves
caress and soothe
Open your eyes
you are in a watercolor of sea and sky
feel the warm rocks
the wisdom-teachers
struggle to your knees
push in your aching heart
take up your driftwood staff
Come
walk your pilgrimage
July 3rd, 2009 at 6:42 am
Lucy – that is from TS Elliott’s Four Quartets. I have been meaning to reread it again for some weeks, thank you for providing the spur to do so
My contribution:
Always I Begin Again
I lay down after I fell
amongst the rocks. But always
I begin again, scanning skies from
where I bade me look, into the deep well.
In I fell.
Had dragged myself round
amongst the Gedarene tombs.
There she was, she’d tried wrapping
herself in cheap veils made from
Beijing smog.
I enfold the mad Gedarene’s hand.
While we’re gone may He make her
a dress and make us a cairn,
a mark to note the summit of the
beautiful mountain.
July 3rd, 2009 at 6:56 am
(Actually, as I always do, my poem has changed a little since I’ve posted it here
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:26 am
Elaine T. – you’re poem is both disturbing and beautiful. Seems to touch some place of grief and warmth inside of me. Thank you. Blessings to you on your pilgrimage.
July 3rd, 2009 at 10:20 am
lucy, great quote!
Beth, I love the movement in this poem, both through the possibilities of the day and the physical invitation to stretch beyond ourselves.
Martha Louise, lovely haiku, that last line is very evocative, makes me ponder.
Elaine T, this is an incredible story of resurrection, I agree with Shelley, both disturbing and beautiful.
July 4th, 2009 at 10:01 am
I posted this poem (and an explanation of how it came to be) here
Longing. Searching. Dreaming. Believing.
God, I know you hold my life in balance,
Please wrest from me my selfishness, my angry words,
My hurting heart..
and heal me.
Standing. Walking. Preaching. Teaching.
Jesus, I hear your words in my ear,
Please show me how to live by example, by serving,
Tear the rough places away…
Use me.
Bowing. Praying. Fasting. Worshiping.
Holy Spirit, I surrender every facet, every part
Please guide me once again into your place for me.
My heart is warmed…
I am resting.
I am listening.
I am at peace.
July 7th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Here I am… Again!
Yes, here I am again
in my wandering
wonder.
How is it that
another fall
has over come me?
I walk a stretched road,
the walk of every
faith, no doubt.
But, my soul
needs a way to
balance my steps.
I rest in the centre
of my God.
Imbibing peace.
May sabbath
time nourish my
healing.
God you always bless
my birth, at
each beginning.
July 8th, 2009 at 9:40 am
A poem didn’t happen in my week, but thank you to everyone else.