Welcome to the Abbey’s 62nd Poetry Party!
I select an image and suggest a theme/title and invite you to respond with your own poem. Scroll down and add it in the comments section below. Feel free to take your poem in any direction and then post the image and invitation on your blog (if you have one), Facebook, or Twitter, and encourage others to come join the party! (If you repost the photo, please make sure to include the credit link below it and link back to this post inviting others to join us).
Each month we have a new theme and for November it is community, drawn from the third principle of the Monk Manifesto: “I commit to cultivating community by finding kindred spirits along the path, soul friends with whom I can share my deepest longings, and mentors who can offer guidance and wisdom for the journey..”
Write a poem about your own longing for community.
How do you connect with soul friends?
What are the gifts your community offers to you?
Photo Credit: Anna Seccombe (please use this credit if you repost this invitation on your blog and link back to the Abbey as well – thank you!)
Share your poem below in the comments with the Abbey community.
On Sunday, November 25th, I will select one name at random from the submissions and the winner will receive a space in my upcoming online retreat – Birthing the Holy: An Online Retreat for Advent with reflections by Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB and myself, and the wonderful art of Mary Southard, CSJ.
November’s theme is Community (Abbey Resources):
55 Responses
there is very little that i know
but one thing seems certain:
i do not walk alone
(no matter how alone i am).
there is a longing within,
an unquenched thirst,
to know the wholeness
of the holy Uncreated.
it is not my longing
but our longing.
come, walk with me –
let us drink of Him.
let us drink of His healing,
let us drown in His light,
till selves be lost
in sacred One.
Drinking Him with you, Mary.
Community is breathing
Community is loving
All over the world
Where ever there is life
There is a need to belong
To fill the emptiness
To close the space
Finding the the sacred, The Divine
Whole together
I feel the pulsating heartbeat of community in this poem, Mary.
The Clown Community
jouncing and jerking
on one flat tire
we pull up, pile out
our big round bottoms sway
as we stumble forward
on our gargantuan clodhoppers
under red blobs of noses
our mouths are painted up or down
but our eyes are real
and see
our gift to you,
incandescent laughter,
holy in your hearts
also see
the sanctimonious mean
fully robed
in the front row
see
Mr greedy self-righteous
we relish
mocking their pomposity
we are the clown community
by our foolish humility
we prick balloon egos,
lighten the limited days
of little bald headed children,
raise up the sad,
bring down the proud,
and heal the wounds of life
This brought a smile to my face. :)
Amen! Send in the clowns!
A Thanksgiving Poem for Friends
I know a deep and endless yearning
for a community of people
who share a vision of a world made whole,
who draw near to one another to create
that which could be but is not yet,
who seek a space to breathe
in sacred meanings,
to live out strength renewed,
who cup together many palms to shelter
God’s warm and beating breast
and then in turn extend that brief, small warmth
out to the needs of all God’s own.
Now and again I know in fleeting form
and celebrate this community of the whole.
It never takes the shape that I expect,
its layers deep and rich,
fragmented and complex,
take me always by surprise.
Yet I suspect it ever forms
a grounding strong that lies beneath
my blindness and my cares,
upholding me, enfolding me,
bringing me to fruition.
In naming it and claiming it
I see it here today.
The ache within is silenced in the now. – Jeannie
This is breathtaking, Jeannie ~ the yearning, the imagery, the ache silenced in the now, ~ all of it.
Sisters sojourning
Sometimes together
Sometimes separate
But never alone
Approaching,
Crossing through
Journeying past
Thresholds of wonder
Passing to and fro
North
South
East
West
Shining lights
Leaving stones
Sharing amulets
Blowing a feather forward
In the center
Darkness
Time to reflect
Inward on the lights
The stones, amulets, and feathers
The sisterhood
Weaving a tapestry
Of paths, of routes
Guiding each other
Supporting each other
As Amma God holds us
Hearts aglo in Her grace
–Karla, 11/22/2012
Lovely to read this here, Karla. I feel held by this poem.
Sanctuary
We gather bringing our gifts
Mothers, sisters, daughters
All.
Rich with experience
Knowledge, wisdom, insight
Mother.
Companion of days
Joyful, sorrowing, laughter
Sister.
Full of promise
Anticipation, hope, possibility
Daughter.
A three fold strand
Woven, braided, bound
Strong
We become, together
teaching, sharing, learning,
Community.
the idea for this poem came from the fact that the word “community” is derived from the Latin communitas (cum, “with/together” + munus, “gift”).
This is lovely!
thank you…
A three fold strand ~ mother, sister, daughter. Such a beautiful gift woven together here!
As thou art a blessing to take the time to not only read but to respond individually to each poem in a meaningful, articulate way that shows you took time to understand what you read. A gift of encouragement is a beautiful gift, thank you for sharing yours.
What is BOLD?
We are women who come from different faiths but our mutual love of God and the gift of caring, have brought us together.
Blessed to be in our 50’s & 60’s, we welcome you to join us,
younger or older, any age is a good place to be at this precious time in all our lives.
We are inviting kind hearted, God loving women who would enjoy sharing a morning in conversation, laughing, listening, prayer and perhaps a tear or two.
Be BOLD, join us in the…Blessings Of Love Divine!
What a BOLD gift of community! This poem is like a welcoming embrace.
Being Community:
Gathering
Separating
Nearby
Distant
Embracing
Releasing
Speaking
Listening
Giving
Receiving
Leading
Following
Weeping
Laughing
Breaking bread
Being bread
Separating
Gathering
Being
Community.
Thank you for giving voice to these seeming polarities, all so important in being community.
Thank you Amber for putting flesh on the bones of the words – ‘giving/receiving’ – to each of us ‘gathered’ here – what a sweet, communal, Sunday surprise.
Welcome, Joy Sorrow
Broken embracing broken
Pilgrims together.
Broken embracing broken ~ such a gift of love an acceptance.
An Invitation and Benedictus
Come wade in the garden with me
for night is certain to happen
form a noteworthy tower of rock on a stump of tree
amidst the taste, texture, sound and hues of dusk
to make sure the night
as we both , together, await the new dawn
What a beautiful depiction of the gift of community in the night.
Lovely. Yes, the night is certain to happen, but together we do await the dawn. Powerful!