Mom kept a cedar chest
made during the 1940s.
It was a time capsule of hidden treasures
I, unfortunately, never got to meet my mom’s mother.
I only had stories, pictures, and the
cedar chest’s contents
My most treasured item was
my grandmother’s maternity dresses.
She had two from the forties
– one brown, one blue –
both with the same floral pattern
The telltale sign it was meant
for an expecting woman was the picture
of a stork on the tag inside
The dresses were soft and well-kept
How I wanted to try on that dress!
And to my delight, my mom gave me permission!
The dress slipped easily over my head
and hung comfortably on my shoulders
I pranced around the house
My one connection to the one
who carried my mom
I began to wear the dresses to school
with my sandals or my Docs.
I walked everywhere
to and from school,
through downtown,
to my afterschool job
And my grandmother went with me.
I imagined her at my age
17, walking through downtown Arctic
How few things change.
I imagined her life, full of potential
that moment when you’re still a girl
before falling in love
before expectation
and married life
She was with me
and I was with her
as we walked miles through town together
I still have that dress
it will always be a treasured item
Nowadays, I am less carefree
to wear it about my daily life
But maybe one day
I can take it out, touch it
with my hands, slip it over my head
and prance around, once again
[ Happy birthday, Mom! This poem is for you!! ]
Music creates memory
Music can instantly transport me back
to when I first heard it
what was I doing;
who was I with
Music expresses emotions
beyond what simple words could
imbue with their colorful hue
I long to be a song that
lingers on your tongue
that tickles your ear
to be magically transported
is a strong and powerful act
Music can withstand any distance.
The point from me to you is
suddenly irrelevant
Just the reverence of a melody
Music can transform a stranger to a friend
what was unknown and unheard
now here with us, trance-like
we hear and feel its lull
Some are moved to the dance floor
Others moved to tears
Some a loving embrace
A smile forms on our face
We are forever changed.
Who were you?
"Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?"
― Danielle LaPorte
Rest big or small
a cozy space
to breathe
a lavender-scented mask
luxuries but not necessary
I am grateful for this space
this cozy place to rest
I am the author of my story
The captain of my ship
I steer toward calm waters
I hold steady during the storms
They come and go
as is life’s journey
rest is my anchor
rest is my healer
So long ago I read the quote,
"I am my own healer"
Little did I know it would be
many years – decades –
before that intention became my reality
I choose rest
Today it is my birthright
to heal and feel
I am one with the earth
Baby & Mama birds
Baby starling with its
soft downy feathers
- fluffy fragile thing -
It waits on the ground
only a week from
leaving its nest
Hungry mouth
always in need of
nourishment
Greater than being sequestered
no longer in its shell and
strong enough to walk
awkward
but tuned to its parents
its survival depends on it
what seems fragile and tiny
has already overcome so many feats
It answers the call
Bursts disrupt the silence
a happy reunion
of chatter and feeding
Fledgling follows the call
until the need for nourishment
once again becomes too strong
All too quick
the hungry mouths
have not met its full
A growing baby bird
demands it and its
parents answer the call.
Happy trails lay ahead
A future I can see as clear as day:
It’s filled my lungs with fragrant lilies
and bold bright violets
that blanket the earth and soften under my feet
Each one precious and beholden to me
My heart no longer a stranger
a beast banging on my chest
shouting its replay of gripes
They can’t reach me here.
In the meadow, in the valley
I fasten a fallen flower to my chest
and we wander down
this happy trail together
The Goddess Within
Goddess energy
life giver
collaborator
compassionate communicator
makes community & unity
I embrace the goddess within
She and I tread lightly
and listen wholeheartedly
hand in hand I am led
and together we heal this land
Reiki Shifts
when there is safety
and deep roots
the healing can start
Like an earthquake that loosened
those deep ancient roots
what was hidden has now surfaced
to be healed or revealed
Healing is not linear
or a one and done
like all life circumstance
it is cyclical and spiral
When it comes back to
the surface, it is not
a failure, a revisiting of
past wounds
It is an opportunity
to use my lived experience
to deeply heal what was
shameful and dark
to be turned over
during this cycle
re-examined and not
discarded
no more
no more
Green blankets the earth
sweet blades of gentle grass
like hair brushing the bottoms of my feet
shades of green flood my vision:
Pines, evergreen, maple, shrub, dogwood
The seasons move me to the page
to write, to poetry
The ink scratches across
lined paper like a well-manicured lawn
now dented and clumped from small children’s feet
playing in the garden
rejoicing in the sun
as carefree as can be
The neighbors’ dogs bellow and bark
the calm serene lazy green scene
is shattered with shrill and boom
oh, how I used to curse the dogs
and their loud incessant pitch
They too are creatures of the earth
and innocent of their own plight and cries
for play and attention
I take the cue and turn inward
to play on the page with a small smile
on my lips -- no sour or annoyance today
for Green blankets the earth
and I am a child of nature.
Ant Army
Chitter and chatter
as they climb the bared
stud and wood walls
up and up toward the
dormer windows
Where did they come from?
Are they in the same colony
or dueling ant armies?
I did not expect to see so many
in my brand-new shed
my sanctuary
my space to just breathe
and be
to create, to move
to meditate and chant
I did not think I
would be the one
wiping out the ant armies
armed with insect spray
I rain down on them
They stop in their tracks
It is all quiet now
finally
Healing Insights 