salve

day 8

I’ve got a wonderful poet for you to sit with today.

My dear friend Madison Murphy Barney is here to give wisdom and care.

Madison is an Indigenous sister, author, doula, and story-driven strategist.

“An enchanting nature-based guide to living more in deeper relationship with ourselves, our communities, and our planet by embodying the innate qualities of the wondrous mycelial world.”

Subscribe to Madison’s substack!

Today’s poem from Madison is such a gift, and I hope the creativity with which it’s shared inspires you in your poems today.

Photo by Chelsea shapouri on Unsplash

Today’s word is salve.

A Salve For Our Wounds
Serves 8.3 billion

Ingredients
52 moments of connection
A pinch of rebellion
1 cup of courage to let what needs to crumble, crumble
1 pound of creativity to build what wants to be born
3 nights off from all the noise, distraction
1 oversized pot of soup, shared down the road
6 oz of slowness, presence
10 oz of tears for what could have been, 10 more for what will be
1 cozy spot at home within ourselves
16 ways to meet every need. Abundance, abundance, abundance my dear
A dash of a bird’s morning song
A drizzle of awe for the webs we weave
A dollop of “I believe in us,” and another of “a new morning on the horizon”

Instructions
Combine together in a large, wooden bowl with your beloved flowers, medicines, and prayers. Mix thoroughly with the gifts of your Ancestors and generations to come. Apply daily, or as needed to yourself and those you meet along the way. 

Photo by Matt Briney on Unsplash