Fridays Are (Still) For Poetry

It's May!  Which means National Poetry Month has wrapped up for another year.  But.  I'm still feeling the need for more poetry in my life, so I'm going to continue sharing some of my favorite poems on Fridays.

I hope you won't mind.

(Grape hyacinths are my favorite spring bulb, and they are popping up all over my garden right now.)

==

The Cure for It All
Julia Fehrenbacher

Go gently today, don't hurry
or think about the next thing. Walk
with the quiet trees. Can you believe
how brave they are -- how kind? Model your life
after theirs. Blow kisses
at yourself in the mirror

especially when
you think you've messed up. Forgive
yourself for not meeting your unreasonable
expectations. You are human, not
God -- don't be so arrogant.

Praise fresh air,
clean water, good dogs. Spin
something from joy. Open
a window, even if
it's cold outside. Sit. Close
your eyes. Breathe. Allow

the river
of it all to pulse
through eyelashes,
fingertips, bare toes. Breathe in,
breath out. Breathe until

you feel
your bigness, until the sun
rises in your veins. Breathe
until you stop needing
anything
to be different.

==

My best wishes to all of you . . . for a weekend filled with peace and solace and things that bring you joy.
And maybe some poetry

==

Today's poem was published in Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems, 2017, Grayson Books, and edited by Phyllis Cole-Dar and Ruby R. Wilson.  Information about the author can be found here.

 

Comments

[Vera]

Such a beautiful poem - thank you. Happy May Day! And wishing you a most delightful weekend - enjoy!!

Grape hyacinths - love them, but they come up EVERYWHERE - including in our gravel driveway!! And throughout the yard! Not necessarily a bad thing though.

[Kat]

Thank you! I hoped you'd extend Friday's are for Poetry!! This poem! I am all teary -eyed reading it! XO

[Bonny]

You always seem to find just the right poem for the occasion. Thanks for continuing to share!

[Carole]

That's a perfect poem to read right before meditation practice, I think. That last line about breathing until you don't feel the need for things to be any different is super powerful.

[Margaret A Langley]

Ohhhh I love spring bulbs, and your bi colored grape hyacinths are lovely... might have to search some out. If this quarantine continues this might be my most weed free garden year ever!

[Anne]

What a beautiful poem!
Perfect for the moment.

[eileen]

Thank you, thank you, for that amazing poem! Perfect for ending a week and knowing another is right in front.

[Debbie]

Thanks for sharing such a lovely poem!

[Sarah]

This is marvelous. Praise good dogs, indeed!

[Sylvia]

Thank you for the poem. I just shared it with my family.
Time to open a window...

[Patty]

I think that's my favorite one ever and refrigerator worthy! Have a nice weekend Kym! xo

[Carolyn]

Isn’t it something hkw so many poems seem to have been written for this time —even though they weren’t? Which goes to show, I think, that we have survived all kinds of hardships before. And though each feels unique, we return to the same ‘bank’ of feeling them.

[Mary]

I'm so glad you're going to keep sharing poems on Fridays! You've introduced me to many new-favorites - thank you! (and this looks like a collection made for me)

[kathy b]

Great poem share. We are lucky to pass thousands of mini hyacinth at the edge of our road. Just beautiful

[Jane]

I am also enjoying that volume of poetry. Yes to Friday and poetry. I saw some mini grape hyacinths this afternoon. Mother Nature knows how to combine colors for sure.