The beauty is in the walking ― we are betrayed by destinations.
~Gwyn Thomas
Announcing the winner of my Kitty Hawk giveaway:
Our esteemed Poetry Friday host, Bridget Magee! Congrats, Bridget!
Two poems intended to soothe the spirit today.
Walking Blessing
by Jan L. Richardson
That each step
may be a shedding.
That you will let yourself
become lost.
That when it looks
like you’re going backwards
you may be making progress.
That progress is not the goal anyway,
but presence
to the feel of the path on your skin,
to the way it reshapes you
in each place it makes contact,
to the way you cannot see it
until the moment you have stepped out.
************
from
A Milkweed
by Richard Wilbur
What power had I
Before I learned to yield?
Shatter me, great wind:
I shall possess the field.
************
Wee Words for Wee Ones has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Bridget!
Ahhhh.... your post makes me exhale, and appreciate, and, as many times before, it's one I'll pass along to my family! Thank you, Tabatha. XO
ReplyDeleteI love Walking Blessings in particular - I feel so much more at peace just reading it and contemplating the path it suggests. Thanks, Tabatha.
ReplyDeleteWow, especially like the second poem. Gorgeous! Thanks for this much needed dose of beauty and solace.
ReplyDeleteBoth poems resonate with me, Tabatha. Wilbur's is so powerful in so few words, "Shatter me, great wind:". *sigh*
ReplyDeleteAnd YAY! for the Kitty Hawk book! My Maureen will be thrilled - another gift for my girl. Thank you!
Love these poems. I walk a labyrinth once begun in our pine grove. Jan Richardson' work is phenomenal. And Wilbur's poem is tightly perfect! Remember to breathe. Thank you, Tabatha.
ReplyDeleteWhat gifts you give.
ReplyDelete"That when it looks
like you’re going backwards
you may be making progress."
This is something to breathe in and out daily.
Ah, to be present.
You always make me think, Tabatha. Both are so thoughtful. I do like "I shall possess the field." Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHow nicely these two selections fit in with all the haiku I've been reading. I especially love the selection from Wilbur's "A Milkweed"— so powerful! It has a strong flavor of the tao te ching, no?
ReplyDeleteThank you. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWilbur's poem is welcomed for its spareness, yet, it says so much. I also like these lines that aren't included above, Anonymous as cherubs
ReplyDeleteOver the crib of God,
Thank you for sharing these gorgeous poems, Tabatha! I especially love these lines from Walking Blessing:
ReplyDelete"...but presence
to the feel of the path on your skin,
to the way it reshapes you..."
Those are divine. I am especially fond of "Shatter me, great wind:/ I shall possess the field." I agree with Robyn. Ahhh.
ReplyDelete