Welcome to the Abbey’s 65th 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).
This month we are celebrating the arrival of springtime in the northern hemisphere (or a springtime of the soul if spring feels far away where you live).
Your invitation is to write an Ode to Springtime or other poetic way of honoring the gifts and call of the season. Write a poem in celebration of the earth’s and soul’s turning toward the time of blossoming. Share it below in the comments with the Abbey community.
Photo Credit: “Pink and Sparkly” by Alizabeth Rasmussen of Faith Squared
(please use this credit if you repost this invitation on your blog and link back to the Abbey as well – thank you!)
On Friday, May 10th I will draw a name at random from those who participate and the winner will receive a signed copy of Eyes of the Heart: Photography as a Christian Contemplative Practice directly from me in Ireland!
36 Responses
Oh splendor above
resemblance of winters’ flakes
falling gently upon me
I watch as pink clusters
separate and colors fade
from weeping cherry blossoms
they descend and alight
without hesitation
on earths’ emerald carpet
her beauty falls where it will
she must listen and obey
to her Mothers’ request
Crimson Fruit
Winter claws to hold the long dark days
Emboldened by cold rains and daily frost
Confident of triumph he muses alone
And delights in thoughts of endless sleep
Spring will never come, never win
Ancient root planted before Winter’s rule
A lone tree begins to swell, dares to blossom
Breaking through bitter winds of indifferent ice
With flowers spread towards the weakened light
Spring is coming, Spring will win
Under cloudy veil of the once warm sun
Warm crimson fruit drops to a frozen ground
Carnivorous birds of death circle the tree
Piercing the flesh of the first fruit and chiding
“Spring is coming, Spring will win”
Winter watches as the tree is chopped and torn
The branches thrown to the fruit soaked ground
Confident of triumph he muses alone
Stepping a vulgar dance on a once glorious tree
Spring will never come, never win
At Winter’s feet, green shoots break the soil
Impotently stamping and thrashing he flails
Seeds of derision born of the crimson fruit
Forest of ancient glory destroying temporal rule
Spring has come, Spring has won
Beautiful writing…it touched my soul
Thank so much for your story. I am smiling at Spring’s victory …Yes!
Pink and Red
How far you have come
from the black hole of winter
that made you blind to color.
There in that place
your brain had frozen over
and you could not remember
the colors of Spring
or believe in
living again.
But oh the joy
of surrendering to the season
of dying to live again
to witness anew
the world popping with beauty
to awaken from the dead
and find yourself clothed
in pink and red.
This gives me hope
I will wear pink and red today to celebrate. Thanks!
Ahhh! The season of pink trees has arrived!
I knew it would come, sooner or later.
The trilliums whispered to me first,
Then the skunk cabbage almost knocked me over.
The thirty-foot high wild bitter cherry
Started strewing blooms that collected
In my locks, in the skinny fingers of grass.
Faint frog choruses piped up from
Distant woods.
One morning— There!
Pink trees in the city,
And over the next few days,
They opened their blossoms,
Farther and farther north,
Up and upward into the elevations,
Until that perfect morning
The pink trees bloomed in my yard.
And it was on that day,
I noticed the swallows flying,
And I knew then, once again,
The season of singing had come.
I am greatly moved and uplifted by your words and images. Thank you and many Spring Blessings. Pace
Enfolded
An image of softness
moist with rainwater
delicate petals enclosing
defining, a secret
sacred space.
This Spring has been
so long in coming;
finally a hard road
ending, in this place
of tenderness.
Unknown, some softness
must have led me
through those darkest
days, to bring me
home at last, enfolded
Thank you for sharing hope
Our walk is full of lovely blooms despite
The chill that makes me bundle up for warmth.
Electra sniffs with great delight, her tail
awag as towards the beach and back we come
so full of joy and gratitude for life.
Dancing pink and swirling white
Itching eyes delight in the explosion
Fragrant breezes tickle my nose – achoo!
Happy to see you, happy to see you go.
SPRING, 2013
Yesterday, sixty
Today, downpouring rain and snow
Tomorrow, flowers?
I wrote this poem just before the poetry party was announced but it fits the theme. It was meant to be experience along with photo images so (with Christine’s permission) I will give you the link to my blog where it is posted as a YouTube video – if you want the full effect:
http://findhope-mary.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-opening.html
my heart is like a tiny tree bud
in early spring
wrapped so tightly in itself
that it knows not
whether it is living or dead.
deep within its core
it holds a truth it cannot name.
but the little bud knows that
not all truths are welcome
in this dark world
and it is afraid.
violent storms rage and rage
around the tiny bud
as it clings to the only branch it knows.
i watch and i wait.
what else can i do?
i look to heaven, pleading for a sign –
will the bud survive?
the sun smiles down
and the breezes warm
but they give no answer.
and then it begins:
the opening.
shyly… just a little at first,
fearful of what is coming.
i pray again, my heart quivering
as transformation unfolds.
“be open!” the sun beckons.
“stay rooted in me,” the earth invites.
“reach for the sky!” cries the wind.
my heart can wait no longer.
it cannot remain but a bud.
a living Truth bursts forth
and shatters the walls
that held it tight within itself.
it is not the old life anymore –
it cannot be.
my heart can be my heart no more.
it is Beauty,
only Beauty…
Wow….thank you so much….I watched your video and through it I received a much needed gift today.
Spring Light
the Light begins
to move
across the sky
slowly it creeps back
awakening my soul,
opening my eyes
after the dark night of winter,
the sun’s warmth
soaks into my bones,
lighting the way,
the earth begins to hum
with budding potential,
green unfurls its tiny flags
and then my heart
opens to new possibilities
take me,
spring Light.