I was lucky enough to see the Aurora Borealis last night and couldn't not write about it today 😄 I posted several photos on my Insta to go with this poem, anyone who's interested can check them out @SHaywardWrites (hope that's ok to share)
This is tremendous Sarah! Thank you for writing so beautifully about the Aurora Borealis, one of the most amazing wonders we have seen in our lfietimes. We used to see them from time to time during the ten years we lived in northern Vermont, and they always made us stop and gaze in quiet wonder. We see them quite infrequently here on the seacoast of New Hampshire, so last night was a treat. Thank you for sharing your poem and pictures.
I love this A.! I am smiling at the image of three crows marching up your street, a funny and frightening image. I liek that yo9u use "a murder of crows," a term I learned in anoethr peotry sharting. And I love that you give a hopeful sheen to the ancient crow, who have seen so much in this world.
Okay. So, I wasn't planning on writing today, but I needed to sort through some anger and fear. Writing seemed to be the answer. I'm still feeling pretty raw about the incident, so the poem is raw as well.
Garden
The most valuable
and most powerful ability —
divine, human,
or otherwise —
is not the capacity
to do or accomplish
something extraordinary.
It is the ability to be present:
availability;
which is the garden
where the holy gift
of community
is planted, watered,
photosynthesized, and nurtured.
This resonates so much! I find community in the garden everyday, and I love how you put it into words.
This is sweet, Todd, fit for a garden! I like the blending of mindfulness and the revolutionary act of gardening, one of the best forms of resistance.
Little Ode to Community Care
What do you love?
Can I help you make the space
For you to be in a place
To enjoy one of those small
things today?
This is wonderful Ange! A little ode with a powerful depth!
Thanks for the encouragement!
I was lucky enough to see the Aurora Borealis last night and couldn't not write about it today 😄 I posted several photos on my Insta to go with this poem, anyone who's interested can check them out @SHaywardWrites (hope that's ok to share)
With necks craned back,
we scan the skies.
93 million miles away,
a stellar storm
causes our breath to pause.
A reverent hush lays upon
the gathered crowd
when a flare of light shoots forth.
A group gasp fills the air.
Hoots and hollars ring out,
the celestial show an interspace grand slam.
Around the planet,
similar photos fill our feeds.
Our collective awe creates
a planetary community.
When faced with such grandeur,
such otherworldly majesty, our differences
fade into the dark background.
There is no class, no race,
no battle lines,
when we come together in wonder.
We looked and drove and looked last night and tonight and couldn’t see anything. Thank you for gifting us with this glimpse of beauty shared, Sarah.
This is tremendous Sarah! Thank you for writing so beautifully about the Aurora Borealis, one of the most amazing wonders we have seen in our lfietimes. We used to see them from time to time during the ten years we lived in northern Vermont, and they always made us stop and gaze in quiet wonder. We see them quite infrequently here on the seacoast of New Hampshire, so last night was a treat. Thank you for sharing your poem and pictures.
[Ode to a Church Choir]
No matter how I'm feeling
No matter my beef with the one tenor
Or the way the one alto talks too much
Or the sopranos who lost the ability to sing a high F about twenty years ago
Or the bass behind me who comes in too soon--
We start singing, and I soar
And I smile
And I believe in God again.
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing
Thanks for reading!
I love this.
Thank you!
I heard a murder
of crows convening
in the trees.
.
One day, I saw them
marching up my street,
a set of three.
.
And, truthfully, I
envy their sense of
camaraderie.
.
Oh, to be a crow,
and to gather so
confidently.
I love both the rhythm and the imagery in this one!
I love this!! I also feel similarly about the geese
I love this A.! I am smiling at the image of three crows marching up your street, a funny and frightening image. I liek that yo9u use "a murder of crows," a term I learned in anoethr peotry sharting. And I love that you give a hopeful sheen to the ancient crow, who have seen so much in this world.
All That Is Required
Whether a circle of chairs
In a church basement
Or squares of faces
On a screen
Cameras on or off
Words spoken or not
All you have to be is present.
All that is required is to listen
And sit with discomfort
And acknowledge
Not that you are broken
But that you are worthy of being
Rather than escaping
Because in this space
Whether seen or not
Heard or not
You are welcome
You are held
You are loved
"you are worthy of being / rather than escaping" these lines really hit my heart ❤️
Thank you.
This is beautiful Rachel, a wonderful prayer/poem/blessing for a world so sorely in need of this message.
Beautiful Strangers
I feel your hearts
Care-workers, mothers,
People in arts
Feelers of feelings
Weavers of words
Rage, relief
It's so absurd
They've put us in boxes
Good girl, or bad
Hippie, or weirdo -
Loner - so sad
This reductivist bullshit;
Insidious - intended
To keep us preoccupied -
Our woes never-ended.
Distracted from reality
We have this big secret
We're all kind of fucked!
Oh sugar - oh shit!
Yet, if we follow the breadcrumbs
We find tangible space
For community - connection -
A curious place
A gorgeous ecosystem
Where seeds can be sown
Where voices can echo
"I am not here alone!"
So here we are now -
Good girl, be gone!
Step into your village.
Together we're strong.
The honesty - "we're all kind of fucked". That is true on several levels....but "I [we] are not here alone". "Together".
Awesome. Thank you for sharing
Haha, thank you Steven - sometimes you just gotta say it!!
This one really got me in the feels. Gorgeous!
Ah, I'm Glad Lisa 😊 Thank you 💜
I love this. It's almost sing-songy, but also so deep.
Yes, together we’re strong!
I don’t want to be
self-sufficient anymore —
how exhausting
Here, let us sow seeds
together, intertwine our roots
carry the bucket
Hand in hand, together
as in to gather
as in community
let us lighten
each other’s loads, remember
we were made for this
Yes!
I agree. I'm much too tired to carry it all. Let's lighten each other's loads
Its the tribalness of it
That adds to it.
Adding another X
on your short timers' calendar,
as you proclaim to your fellow submariners
"another day in paradise" with a wry smile.
Today, I planted two types of Flowers
In the very same pot
They will live & die together
Having never fought
They both relish the Dirt
And Crave the Sunlight
Uniterested in outdoing one another
Or trying to be wrong or Right
The rich darkness of the soil
Gets the roots ready to nourish
While the the sunny rays
Prepare the blooms for flourish
These flowers
They never compete
And by any other name
They’d smell as sweet
As they grow older
The dirty roots will intertwine
Separate but Connected
Never to claim, “Hey that’s mine”
Somehow they share the earth
While remaining fully Free
Urging us to Understand
This concept of Community
I devoured the first three stanzas of your poem, Jimmy. Great metaphor. Please keep creating.
The arms of friends around me
remind me of the thread
that weaves and shimmies
around all of us
Maybe it is time
or spirit
or another mystery
but I know that it remains
untied at the beginning and end
with strands that wave
in the possibilities of
futures honed from the past
but can I see
can I feel
this middle of the braid
the part with the arms of
my friends around me
the part with all the
tangled knots
wrapping and twisting
us all in together
right here
right now
This is quite lovely, Sarah. I love these lines:
"but can I see
can I feel
this middle of the braid
the part with the arms of
my friends around me
the part with all the
tangled knots
wrapping and twisting
us all in together
right here
right now"
and I am shaking my head "Yes, yes you can!"
Coming together
Opening up
Mothering
Mixing
Uniting
Nurturing
Intentionally and unintentionally
Together
You all belong here
A beautiful poem and insight, Jane. Thank you.
‘…seen and held and know by others’ - gorgeous words Kaitlin x
A poem about a certain kind of community formed by drum circlers.
^
Heartbeat slowly fills the room,
Soulful thump, thump, slowly encircling
this rainbow band of hope seekers.
As the heartbeat lays the foundation,
another beat slides in,
the timeless thwack of the buffalo drum,
the stinging slap of a rim tone.
Shaker eggs come in from various parts of the room,
here and there a croaking frog finds its place,
ageless, primal and deep within.
Singing drum sprinkles light among the shadows,
a lonely kalimba adds it circus tone,
native flute deepens the spirit in which we gather.
The voices begin, slowly, softly,
build to a centering flow,
balancing collective notes of unity and connection.
Dancers enter the circle,
bodies in release moving freely to their inner songs
discovering beautiful symmetry in the music of others.
Drummers for justice.
dancers for peace,
delightful singers of spirit,
ragged, rousing band of dreamers filling the night sky.
Rising up like lost stars come home,
opening hands, invitation to join in
precious, unique ways
as the circle gets wider and wider.
We gather in loving kindness as witnesses
to healing beyond all hope,
compassion buffering the angry hordes,
dimming the devastation and designers of doom,
until they, too, see the light in the shadows.
The drumming ends in quiet softness,
gentle winds blow across our skin;
We look around the circle,
bless each other with our eyes and our hearts,
traipsing out into the night, suddenly full of promise.
What beautiful imagery, Larry!
Thank you Bruce!
Okay. So, I wasn't planning on writing today, but I needed to sort through some anger and fear. Writing seemed to be the answer. I'm still feeling pretty raw about the incident, so the poem is raw as well.
I felt angry with a neighbor today.
The smoke from the fire
gave off a rancid odor
that burned my nostrils
causing my body to
tense
with
fear.
As children, we are rightfully taught
to fear fire
but what about the person
who starts
the fire (cue Billy Joel)?
What narrative am I telling
myself about
them?
Not good things, that's for sure.
Now I need to work on
rewiring my brain
to see this neighbor
as an equal in the Beloved Community
Not how I encountered them
for disturbing my privileges.
Authenticity bleeds from this raw and vulnerable poem, Sarah.
Thank you for your kind words, Bruce. It was a rough evening and the words needed a safe space.
Lessons in community.
We need elders.
We need young ones.
We need a common Love
and we need to be sharing mundane
daily tasks.
Food
and mending
and building
and cleaning
are best.
Most of all
maybe
we need to see and be seen
making mistakes
sweating
screaming
frustrated
imperfect
growing
learning
forgiving
being forgiven
held.