Poem · Poetry

Divine Utterances

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

It amazes me sometimes

how close You are.

All that is needed is

a moment

to leap out of myself

and into your breath.

I breathe in

and there You are –

and I am suddenly larger…

kinder –

to self

and beyond self.

You whisper… “See?”

And then, “Settle yourself.”

And then, “No worries.”

Finally, “Be the Love you are.”

Oh, for the presence of mind and heart

to remember this!

You are never far away

and I belong to You –

like a bird belongs to its song,

and the moon belongs

to the sky.

Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2019

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

A Breath That is Free

March 9, 2019 becomingandbeholding3 Comments

If our moments are forgotten,

did we really live them?

If our thoughts are in charge,

are we present at all?

If our breath is held,

is it really a breath?

I pause with these questions

and my ears open to the hum of my home,

and the song of the birds outside.

My vision is sparked by

the morning light filtering through the trees.

The glow is beautiful.

I notice that as I write,

my posture is hunched,

and I am tight in all the usual places.

I release the usual.

Relaxing and deepening awareness

of my breath,

and my gratitude for it all,

I begin again.

I am present and I live this moment.

Grace and peace find me

in the movement of my breath.

I am ready for the gift of another day.

Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2019

Poem · Poetry

The Turn

February 9, 2018February 9, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

Today when I drove to work,

a window opened.

Instead of racing in my thoughts

about the day

and all the angst about

getting things done,

I took a breath.

Not a mindless one,

but a deep, conscious,

life-giving one.

And then I took another,

and a few more after that.

Then I could see again.

I could see how much tension

lived in me.

I could feel the tightness

loosen.

I looked out around me,

and I noticed the trees,

the smiles of others,

the beauty of the day.

All this,

from remembering to breathe!

Oh, I grieve the patterns and traps

of the mind

and its constant power

to distract from the good of life-

its endless power

to keep us busy and off track.

Grant me breath, O God,

and gleaming windows.

Help me to turn my attention

and see!

Copyright© Cynthia Cady Stanton, 2018