Last spring a sweet gathering of creative souls joined with us for our retreat Poetry and the Sacred Garden of the World in Chartres, France. We had a wonderful group of participants and I am delighted to share some of their poems. Pour a cup of tea and savor for a while.
From Carol Everson
Ode to Nurses’ Aides
Here’s to the handler of bedpans
and colostomy bags
whose fingernails grow
fertilized by feces.
To the bather and dresser
and undresser and put-to-bedder
who wishes sweet dreams
to the departing.
To the listener to stories
told a thousand times,
who knows what really matters
are memories of past joys.
To the humble servant
whose minimum wage
supports, or almost supports,
a family of five.
Blessings on thee, humble servant.
May you receive as much as you give,
and come to know God’s glory
in the everyday tasks of taking care.
The Zoo
When she was very small
we took her to the zoo.
In her stroller we pointed
her towards zebras and elephants,
wanting to amuse her with
the rare, the exotic.
But she was uninterested.
She wanted to see,
and to touch,
the pigeons that gathered round her stroller,
hoping for the crumbs
that always followed in her wake.
They were common pigeons,
but still exotic to her in her holy innocence.
Lord, give me the innocence to see
your nearby, everyday people,
as more interesting, more exotic,
than zebras or elephants.
Carol Everson is a retired City of Seattle employee. She worked mainly in the Finance area, consistent with her training as an economist. When she turned 50, she decided that she didn’t have to be “good” at something to enjoy doing it. It was then that she began to explore her creative side through writing poetry and painting in watercolor. She loves the serendipity of both and enjoys the fun of discovery of what is being created!
Both of the poems here began as exercises in the June poetry writing workshop with Christine in Chartres, France.
