Today we are going to deepen our understanding of peace by listening to three of my poems and journaling in response to each.
I'll begin with one that takes place at my favorite time of day,
Sunrise.
It is called,
Not surprisingly,
Only Joy.
Woodpecker flies to the daughter tree,
Cardinal chips from the mother to me.
Sunrise is before me.
Cricket sings with the memory of night behind me,
Story of darkness still lingering.
My body,
Raw and scoop clean of all she has seen,
Laid out in the bed where I left her to rest.
Like a dog,
This moment is best.
Hummingbird whirl,
I am still my mother's girl and the mother of daughters.
Yet like gossamer thread in angel oak tree,
I have been woven by spiders,
Am fragile,
Invisible until sister sun dances on me.
Love,
Struggle,
Yearning,
Hunger,
Desire,
Emptiness.
It all comes down to this.
Bliss.
This.
I once had a dream,
Watched fear walk down the street from a high night window.
It was coming for me.
I thought it would never go.
I put it in words,
Pinned it on paper,
The only place I was allowed to throw.
And those words became seeds for a vision to grow.
Mother daughter tulip poplar trees to shelter me with leaves in flow,
Roots running deep.
They waited for me until I could wake from the dream and know fear no longer lives in my body house.
Only bird song,
Only trees,
Only joy,
Only light.
So bright,
Even at night,
It glows.
We'll write in response to each of these three questions for two minutes.
I'll time us.
The first question is,
What darkness are you ready to lay to rest?
I want to hear your thoughts and your prayers.
Go ahead and finish the phrase you're writing now and then we'll move to the next question.
What fear walking down the street do you sometimes feel?
And finish the phrase that you're writing now.
Good.
And here's our third question.
If you woke from the dream of such darkness and fear,
What would be waiting for you?
You you you and then finish the phrase you're writing now.
Good.
And then as we do go ahead and put your journal away so that you can keep yourself from reading over what you've written moving into critical mode with it.
Maybe take a stretch or a sip of water and I'll read you the next poem which is called include everyone the next arc will have to be bigger two by two won't be enough the numbers have grown and multiplied take the eggplants the loblolly pines the Cardinals the rabbit the crows the honeysuckle vines azaleas tomatoes and books a chair a creek fishing pole hooks tulip poplar marigold honey cherry rose hydrangea and grass the skink the anole butterfly moth geranium green pepper begonia pomegranate sage lavender and avocado apple tree wasps bees palmetto crepe myrtle grows of Sharon Finch the sweet-smelling mint gardenia in bloom and this is just what lives in your yard you will need so much room imagine the size of that arc you better start building it will be a long time before you are done include everyone turning into your journal and I'd like you to write about if you were to build an arc to save everything you love what would be on it you can write this as a poem if you like I'll pause here for two minutes but feel free to stop the audio if you want to keep writing for longer you you you go ahead and finish the phrase that you're writing now and put the journal to the side one more time this next poem takes place at night so in these three poems from today we have the arc of a day from morning to middle of the day tonight it is my hope that with these poems and your responses in writing that you will start to feel what a full day lived in peace might feel like this last poem is called earth I take a flashlight and a shovel I start where you are where your eyes meet mine that light in the dark I kneel and start digging I leave you behind I sweat I let the wet enter my eyes my ears and my mouth I taste my own salt and let truth come out I remember you vaguely as the worms and underground bugs greet me your love is a memory as big as the earth I finally hit water and feel the flow I am worth I drink deep and feel myself giving birth I keep digging until daylight comes and my arms and hands hurt I sleep in the cave I created of my own making never taking more than I need but always getting the diamond that shines and lets me go deeper and get there first I'll ask three more questions and we'll write for one minute in response to each who do you need to leave behind even for a short time in order to let your truth come out you go ahead and finish the phrase that you're writing and the next question is what would you do differently today right now if you finally began to feel the flow that you are worth you good and here is our last question when you are getting the diamond that shines and letting yourself go deeper in your life and work what does this look like you good finish the phrase that you're writing now and then stretch and smile you have done it you are achieving peace through your joy work
