Glowing

July 14, 2018July 14, 2018 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

Oh, give me eyes to see

beneath either fluff

or fear,

underneath pain and harm –

that essential beam

of light and love

which warms and glows!

I want to be a glow detector –

within myself,

and everyone I meet.

For the glow

is where God is visible –

and who doesn’t want to see God?

It takes practice,

this right view.

It does not come easily –

because we have all been trained

to focus elsewhere.

It means getting out of

my own way… once again,

the ongoing lesson,

I keep bumping into,

and tripping over,

along the way.

But dwelling in the Glow,

reflecting its Light,

living in the Beam…

that is where I want to be.

Nothing else really matters,

or is real.

Glow on!

Let your path be a lighted one.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Buttery Grace

July 11, 2018July 12, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

When love is real,

it is easy –

effortless in its appearance,

warm and yummy,

like buttery grace.

It comes from the beyond,

much like inspiration does –

and wisdom is infused

within all its practicalities.

It simply makes sense.

It feels like the sweetest hug.

It sounds like a soothing tide on the move.

It looks like a rose in bloom, and

has the aroma of

bread in the toaster.

It calls to you like bird song in the morning.

These are the measures

of love that is true.

When you have it,

you know, and

trust becomes the glue.

Poem · Poetry · Uncategorized

Why Poem’s Have Impact

July 10, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

Poem · Poetry

Signal Lights

May 23, 2018May 23, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

With the guiding of inspiration,

they come through me,

pointing the way.

Their clarity can be piercing –

sharp and brilliant,

beacons through my

self-created fog.

I wonder at how

they show up-

just when I need them the most.

They are like friends who

know when a smile or a hug

is needed.

And, in the same way,

they are cherished, unconditionally.

This is what my poems mean for me.

I help create them, but

do not quite live them yet.

They love me still.

Funny, how words create worlds…

the beyond is brought forth

in the same way

a kiss presents affection.

Poem · Poetry

Then Sings My Soul

May 4, 2018June 1, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

When wanting meets realization

and dis-ease catches a glimpse

of healing,

my eyes spring open –

and I can see, once again,

how You are right here,

right here.

Life is a beautiful dance.

The music always plays,

with You leading my steps,

and I, in faith, following,

sometimes tripping along-

crying or laughing my way forward –

humbled by my missteps,

and blessed when I move

with grace.

Nevertheless,

and more and more,

I realize,

when I look up

from my preoccupation with

my own feet,

You are here,

You are here.

The dance we share

is as reliable as Life itself.

and its music

floats my heart skyward

as my soul

breaks into song.

Poem · Poetry

It Happens…

May 1, 2018May 1, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

….. if we are one of the lucky ones, that is.

We get older.

When did this natural reality –

with wrinkles in the mix,

become a source of shame?

I admit it,

I struggle with the mirror.

We, me and the mirror, have a daily dialogue which

is too personal to share…

For this reason,

I try to keep my glasses off

when near a reflective surface,

like a mirror or window,

that is how silly of a woman I can be.

I am angry that I was taught

to be self-conscious, evaluative

on a daily basis.

Why do we do this to women, to girls?

I marvel how men could care less.

Their freedom is awesome

and also more affordable.

And as a spiritual woman,

I am embarrassed I still struggle with all this.

I know I go deeper than all that.

So, I am learning to embrace my wrinkles,

and all the rest of it –

as a woman in my fifties.

This is just another example of

how I must get out of my own way

in order to be

the wonderful creation

I was meant to be –

so I can be free, too.

Therefore,

give me laughter,

give me love,

give me purpose,

and humility, too.

Bless me with health.

That is all I really need.

I will take care of myself

as best I can,

and let go of the rest

with grace.

Life is way too short

and I know too well

where this all heads.

But I am not there yet.

My wrinkles tell a story…

the story of me.

Amen to that.

Poem · Poetry

What is Wrong with Faith?

March 20, 2018March 20, 2018 becomingandbeholding2 Comments

I do not have a need

to have all the answers,

I am okay with

What if?

The mysteries do not daunt or

haunt me –

rather, they amaze and

even comfort.

What happens if you get to the end,

and all the certainties you have proven

are wrong?

What then?

It makes me sad when

I meet a heart so closed.

How did it get so frozen?

Watch how the flower blooms.

It dares to open

in the light of the sun.

Poem · Poetry

Finding the Poem

March 19, 2018 becomingandbeholding1 Comment

It comes in the quiet of the morning,

or sometimes on a walk among the trees.

Like a tender bud,

it germinates inside my heart,

until it must be born.

I write

because this process

brings me closer to God –

to the very spark of life

within me.

I write

because when I do,

I am blessed with the very Presence

I seek every moment.

I write

because my restless soul

comes alive when my words

enliven a page.

I write

because it touches you,

and in sharing my voice,

my purpose is born.

I write,

because I must.

Poem · Poetry

The Poems

February 17, 2018March 8, 2018 becomingandbeholdingLeave a comment

You arrive as whispers

calling sweetly in my ear,

causing me to pause and ponder –

leading me forward.

It is like the dawning of hunger

when, no matter what I am doing,

I can think of nothing else.

The urgency must be addressed.

Words must be shaped,

voiced –

labored over and delivered.

Inspiration has called to me.

Each time she visits,

I come alive a little more.

I am born

again and again –

in a blanket of words.

Why me?

I sometimes wonder…

but I open to her, anyway –

and learn to surrender again

to her message

and to what is real.

The whole dance we do

creates a hunger

that builds.

I want more.

In the meantime,

I live the poems I have.

I hold them close to me –

with pregnant anticipation,

I wait for the others.

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!