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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26 Responses
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
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.
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…..
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.”
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.
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
Balanced and Ready
Poised and steady,
Balanced and ready,
Standing on the shore,
Leaning to the fore,
Desiring more,
Poised,
Steady,
Balanced,
Ready.
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.
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.’
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