Remember (part 3)
Connection

Remember (part 3)

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Remember Joy
that jubilance that expands
excitement, thrilling, a connection
to aliveness that spark within

Remember Care is more than refilling your well
It’s a sense of respect
and that you deserve the same care

Remember you are a part of nature
her beauty, the animals,
the motion of the tide
and that bright silver moon

You Belong to the earth
and she belongs to you
It’s a mutual dance of
give and care always

Remember Love is what brings you here
There is no other greater purpose
You do not need to earn it
It is your birthright

Stake a claim
re-unite breath
with your voice

No longer silent
and accepting only breadcrumbs

Joy is yours
You share in how you care

You are love and loved
You belong just be being here

With love always,

North Burial Ground
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North Burial Ground

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many names are engraved here
in this cemetery with lives lost
and hope never forgotten

we keep their memory alive
and we remember best we can
to live each day as the gift it truly is

lives cut too short
no matter the age.
we pay our respects

and share a story or two.
we are made of the stars
as much as what mark we left behind

today I honor all those
who are laid to rest
in this holy sacred ground

Learn more about the North Burial Ground here:
https://www.providenceri.gov/parks/north-burial-ground/

What is a name?
Connection

What is a name?

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A name gives us identity.
We can stake a claim
like life itself, it’s ours:
to make, to learn and grow,
to make mistakes

I am a Jen.
It represents my name
in a particular time and place:
The 70s.

Those were quite uncertain times
of war and trauma
and the broken promises
of the American dream.

We all have a choice
even our name

In the end, we are not fixed
like a heavy boulder that sits
and waits to be reclaimed into the earth

We are mineral and bone and flesh.
We breathe and remember that this,
this is us

Mutable like the waters
that can make the biggest stone crack.
We all have that power within

Fifty
Connection

Fifty

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The book of my life
was written
and handed to me
on the day I was born

Before I knew what
language was
The story was laid before me

As I was put into
my mother’s loving,
welcoming arms
The world began anew

The days and seasons
spun and turned
without me even knowing
of their existence

“We are here for you”

Legs became stronger
First steps and fumbles
The first of many practices

I opened the door
and nature greeted me
with open arms and
a belonging

To know I was where
I was meant to be
I laid down on the grass
My senses alive

Before I could even
open the book
of my life
I was free

Last Azalea
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Last Azalea

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My last blooming azalea flower holds firm,
not ready to let go.
With every bee and hummingbird
– a visitor –
who only can return
when skies turn blue and warm sun shines
I must wait for the wheel to turn

Sometimes
Connection

Sometimes

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Sometimes I can block out
the noise, fodder and distraction
and hear that inner voice

who tries to say her lot
always calm and gently
It often disappears under the rumble.

Her voice is rooted in love
and always looking out for my wellbeing

when I stop ruminating, interrupting,
habitually filling the awkward silence,
I free the inner me

out of the cage of silence and past hurt
out of the chamber of iron and thorns
to express utter knowing and passion

when did being authentic become so scandalous?

Where do I find the sacred?
Connection

Where do I find the sacred?

Healing Insights with JenLeave a comment 
In the vast big sky 
the clouds march above 
morphing, growing, stretching 
apart at the seams, 
and somehow able to defy gravity

The butterfly flits; 
the busy bee visits with flowers 
cuddles, coils, an intercourse 
in its own merging

The bird soars high above 
amongst the clouds 
envision and flight 
something I can never grasp as my own

So instead, I can appreciate

We are not all that different: 
the trees with their ever-changing leaves; 
the moon’s predictable phases; 
the ocean waves ebb and flow

Each day I find the sacred 
on the earth and in the sky 
I take it all in, and end it all with a sigh