Poems For These Times
A Blessing For One Who is Exhausted – a poem of refuge and renewal
My Gourmet Poets Society meets monthly now by Zoom, often sharing poems by the great Irish poet John O’Donohue from his collection To Bless the Space Between Us. Here’s his blessing For One Who Is Exhausted. Timely in its relevance, its wisdom, and its hope. For One Who Is Exhausted When the rhythm of the […]
In This Place – Another Timely Offering from Amanda Gorman
This poem by our Inaugural poet Amanda Gorman showed up in my inbox from Larry Robinson at the very moment I was creating the post Poetry Trumps Politics. For the timing and the truth of it, I’m delighted to pass it on to you. In This Place (An American Lyric) There’s a poem in this […]
Poetry Trumps Politics
Just as hope can be more powerful than heartache, and truth triumph over lies and deception, poetry can stir the heart and inspire a nation far more than political tirades and buzz words. By the time you read this, Joe Biden will have been inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States and Kamala […]
New Year’s Blessing – Belated but Wise and Timely
I learned of this New Year’s Blessing by Larry Robinson the day after New Year’s. It holds the many contradictions and heartaches of 2020 with wisdom and grace. May it enlighten and inspire. New Year’s Blessing By Larry Robinson A year of loss and chaos draws to a close. Stories from a thousand cultures remind […]
Prayer for the New Year
Here’s the annual offering of this wonderful Blessing for the New Year by Kayleen Asbo, as timely and relevant as ever; may it encourage and inspire you and yours: BLESSING FOR THE NEW YEAR As the hours of darkness begin to slowly wane from the winter sky, So too may the fearful places of your […]
Deeper Wisdom at Christmas
Christmas is a mixed bag for many people. Joyful if there is health and happiness in the home, with resources to nourish generosity and resonant connections to nourish the heart. And if there is illness, or poverty, or loneliness, the contrast of an idealized Christmas with reality can be a reminder of suffering and lack. […]
Turning from the Darkness toward the Light
December 21, Solstice, mark the turning of the earth on its axis, the official beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere, the official beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere, we celebrate the turning of the dark toward the light as the days get incrementally longer, 2+ minutes per day toward […]
Love Does That…Love Frees
Deep wisdom about resilience from the 14th century German theologian and mystic, Meister Eckhart: LOVE DOES THAT All day long a little burro labors, sometimes with heavy loads on her back and sometimes just with worries about things that bother only burros. And worries, as we know, can be more exhausting than physical labor. Once […]
As We Move On, Mending and Repairing…
I posted A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand earlier this week, written before the results of the 2020 U.S. national elections were finalized and clear. Larry Robinson posted “For Nothing Is Fixed” by James Baldwin last Saturday, the day after the election results had been declared clear. For nothing is fixed, forever, forever, forever, […]
Just When You Need an Uplift…the Best Poem Ever Appears
The beloved poet Mark Nepo has written 20 books, including his perennially best-selling The Book of Awakening. I find refuge and inspiration in his deeply compassionate and human perspective when times seem the direst and darkest. Below are several of my current favorite poems, offered in the hope of finding the light at the end […]