Mid-Winter Sustenance

I wrote this poem as I was on the brink of launching my first website, almost 20 years ago! Celebrating the deep friendships sustaining me then; that continue to sustain me now. And that supported the launching of the writing that led to Bouncing Back and a decade of teaching/training, the joy of which  still sustains me now, even as I let go more and more of that professional identity and ease into something more universal. 

HELIOTROPES

People ask if I’ve been to Hawaii –

I look so tan in winter.

But I’ve only been out to the garden

To warm my face in the sun. 

Bundled in fleece, snuggling a cat,

I open my heart to the joy of living

As I turn my face to the sun.

I’m so glad when you answer the phone, dear friend!

Stop by for a chat; send me a poem;

You warm my heart with a hug, an embrace;

I turn my face to your sun.

I’m here when you’re down, lost or confused,

Stumbling alone in the dark.

Nestle in the warmth of a soul that loves you;

Turn your face to my sun.

We turn to each other in mid-winter darkness,

Unabashed heliotropes, every one.

We join our hearts in our precious circle

To heal, to weep, to rejoice, to grow.

We become light to each other’s light and being

As we honor the Source of the sun.

– Linda Graham, February 2005