This is an epic poem, Nicole. Its depth and sweep are remarkable. Your poem starts with immediate engagement: “What once was a connection, a /Grounding, a catalyst, now/Becomes a trigger.” An exceptional beginning to a powerful poem.
This is incredible, Christian. It does take my breath away. Your poem is sweet and tender, painful and sad, honest and real. It reveals and releases. Thank you!
This is a very nice work, Jimmy of using cadence and rhyme to wrap the reader into the poem. As someone who struggles with rhyming, I always admire it done well.
This poem and prompt reminded me of this one I wrote about a month ago. 🧡
What a relief
to let go of being good,
to set down,
to release,
to be held
and understood.
mmm love this!
So true and real, A. I know this relief, too.
When i finally stop
To catch up to myself,
Light a candle,
Step on the yoga mat,
Breathe from my depths,
I sigh with relief.
Yes, what a nice feeling and you describe it so well, Jess.
In the drawer beneath the cash register
There was a ball of rubber bands
Layered over time so they wouldn’t
Lie loose
Squirming with no purpose
But snapped into action
Awaiting their turn to be of use
Around an opened box of candles
Or separating postcards into piles.
–
My gut became that ball, at times
Tied up with tensions
Solid to the core
I tasted its elastic
Gave space for it to grow
Until
I found no need for it
Released it strand by strand
No need to hold things all together
To categorize
And organize
And stabilize.
Just let them be.
This is brilliant, Margaret. The rubber band ball as metaphor for how we can be wound tightly , and the joy of release.
Thanks, Larry!
Relief is what they call
A map
That shows elevation
With shading
In higher areas,
Making me think
How nice it would be
If people were
Shaded
To show visually
Whether they are
High or low,
Then no guessing
Would it take
To know
Whether they get it,
Whether they’re safe,
And what a relief
That would be.
What a relief that would be!
Korie, yes! I love maps and love the creative way you use maps to describe the shades of people’s emotions and qualities. Brilliant!
Relief by Nicole Boehrig
What once was a connection, a
Grounding, a catalyst, now
Becomes a trigger
No longer do we feel recharged by
Hearing news, checking news,
Understanding what's happening, because
There's more pain, more overwhelm, more
Too-muchness.
Aware that we block & hide when
It all becomes too much, yet
We block & hide, regardless.
Because our bodies cannot hold
All that assaults us.
Now,
Our dear Mother beckons
Like a life-bringing Siren song,
She taps on the window &
Calls to us.
Inviting us to:
Step into the grass, Smell
flowers' Buds unfurling, Delight
in Sun's shadows on our skin, Ease
our Bodies onto the ground, Giggle
as the Butterfly lands, Allow
Earth's abundance to soothe us.
She is also all raging storms, Crashing
Waves, and Violent Slides that
Tear apart roads and strip homes
Down the mountains.
Yet, when spring comes, the green bursts,
And covers the muddy banks, hides
the broken places, Smooths
and Soothes the rough edges
Was it some violent force? Or
An inevitability from energy built up. With
Nowhere else for all this lust to go.
But to slide down the mountain, Wash
Off the faces, and urge
The People to return.
To return as neighbors, Return
To each other. Return
To themselves. Return
To Earth & their care. Return
To a Call.
Even though all that swirls, When
She taps on my window, Beckons
me outside and away
From the screens and turmoil, I
Can only heed the yearning in my chest,
Answer the Call within my Spirit.
Out. It calls.
Be beyond the pain, Live
Out amongst the people, the land, the spirit, yourself.
A blanket drapes over my shoulders,
A phone slides from my hand,
A foot steps across the threshold,
A world stirs, looks to me, And beckons
me deeper,
Living beyond the boxes.
To Relief.
Out here.
I will read this over and over today! What a rich calling of the life-bringing Siren song!
Thank you for echoing this back to me!
Love the line "a phone slides from my hand"- definitely gets in the way of us soothing our souls
Definitely for me. 🫶🏼
This is an epic poem, Nicole. Its depth and sweep are remarkable. Your poem starts with immediate engagement: “What once was a connection, a /Grounding, a catalyst, now/Becomes a trigger.” An exceptional beginning to a powerful poem.
Thank you so much Larry for your kind, detailed words.
The deep inward sigh
taken when you feel understood.
No explanation needed
when words are not forthcoming.
To know love is there despite
the initial misunderstanding…
Relief washes through
to the depths of one’s soul.
"Relief washes through/to the depths of one's soul." Very nice, Nancy. I can feel this one so clearly.
Relief
That blows
Like a cool breeze
On a hot day
And blows away
All the worries
And what ifs
(That never came to pass)
As I lie down
On the cool sheets
And my head sinks
Deep into the soft pillow.
This is lovely Claire! As I read I could feel the joy of head on pillow and the feel of clean sheets. And now I can’t wait to get to bed!
I was never one to share
My feelings,
Hot coals burning, whispering
*You just want to be alone*
Telling me the pain
Would keep me alive, safe
In familiar territory
I told you my story anyway
And you stayed,
Arms and eyes open
As you told me your own, undeterred
By the lingering darkness
In each of us
And I came to see
The embers were dying anyway
Never the essence of who I was
Extinguished, they returned to earth
To make space
For the relief and sustenance
Of your love.
This is very sweet and tender, Rachel. “And I came to see
The embers were dying anyway…”. Wow!
Day #27 Relief (In memory of Anthony Eugene "Tony" Tyre)
Your final breaths
did not come easy.
I know,
you struggled to gasp for air.
I can see you,
there in the heart of the house
where you grew up.
Vera and Leonard and Beverly
and Evelyn and Junices, and
all the ancestors around.
You were held,
enveloped in their magic.
You know, it is something
to grow up mixed in this world.
To be of a people who
were often at odds,
can be a danger.
Sometimes, the war wages within.
Sometimes, the hate stares back in the mirror.
To be of a people thought to be both
wild and caged.
The conundrum it creates is enough
to take your breath away.
Have you heard
the words they used to describe us?
Let’s not repeat them.
I know you know each one by heart.
And this is not a test.
Uncle, it is time to find
your final resting place.
Where you can sing and fish
and be completely free.
Where you can draw in
the longest inhale,
and all will be clear.
This is incredible, Christian. It does take my breath away. Your poem is sweet and tender, painful and sad, honest and real. It reveals and releases. Thank you!
Thank you, dear one!
Release
Embraces
Long-held
Intensely
Experienced
Fear
🙏💓
Yes! Yes!
Relief
I met an old farmer
Not really that old
Worn down early by years of his toil
No sons to take over
No laborers too
So all week he keeps working the soil
Twelve years his junior
But two past my due
I'm ready to toss in the towel
To wake when I want to
And write when I can
But the farmer would never call foul
Yet I feel even older
Since I rebuilt my life
With as Kipling said old worn out tools
Then dreams were abolished
To live on in peace
Destroyed by a country of fools
I plan to fight on then
If it takes my all
To restore us to our founders’ belief
What else can be done then
Though wasn't my plan
For a patriot there is no relief
Nice poem, Joe. I keep hearing “O Day Can You See” as I read; the perennial tension between who we say we are and who we are.
You can stop the chemo.
We think we got all the AFib
and he'll be waking up soon.
Heat wave ending,
the air is clear to breathe again,
no judgment after all.
It's going to be OK.
This is truly beautiful, and strikes a chord in my heart.
Relief
^
When the storms had passed
and the wars were over,
I looked over at you
felt release and relief in my heart.
We are still here, together.
They used to be brief
These moments of Relief
Ah, but now older & wiser
They’ve become longer & wider
In youth we just wanna be seen
By this vast, outside world
Or noticed by a handsome boy
Or, perhaps, a beautiful girl
Right on time, Relief arrives as
The seeker becomes the sought
A mystical realization
Once chased but never caught
Looking everywhere
High and Low
Now understanding
It was You that you wanted to know
Relief
No longer brief
Still comes and goes
As do the highs and lows
But now, this Relief
It lingers a little longer
As our senses notice more
And our Love grows stronger
This is a very nice work, Jimmy of using cadence and rhyme to wrap the reader into the poem. As someone who struggles with rhyming, I always admire it done well.
Sleep at the end of the long day,
laughter,
tears,
hearing finally, "yes, they are ok."
Coming home,
Going away,
Respite from the pain.
Deep breaths,
long sighs,
and after drought, the rain.
Forgiveness granted,
love assured.
Relief.
This is beautiful, Kate. “Hearing finally “yes, they are okay” filled my heart.” As did, “Deep breaths,
long sighs,
and after drought, the rain.
Forgiveness granted,
love assured.
Relief.”
This is such a resonant poem.
Thank you!
Thank you!
It is such a relief to move from intellect to intuition.
It's like shedding a thousand pounds of armor
To breathe out and relinquish the obsessive strain of argument, defense, and polarizing ideology.
~ Fred LaMotte