This is a haiku poem about being-ness.
some days we simply exist - as the minutes tick we touch "being-ness"
Category: Poems Page 2 of 10
Poetry
This is a story about a spring wedding, yes. But it’s also a story about life.
This month, my son and his wife are celebrating their two year wedding anniversary. They were married in March of 2021, on the spring equinox, a time of new beginnings, a time of new life. It was also right in the middle of one of the world’s worst pandemics, spawning, among other things, unprecedented global economic shutdowns and lockdowns. Businesses, schools, sporting events, large gatherings, graduations, funerals, and weddings were all affected.
Life is like that sometimes.
During their 2020 engagement period, our young couple was busy planning their dream wedding. Surely the COVID-19 restrictions would be lifted within a year, they thought. So they booked a venue.
The wedding would take place in the spring, near the home of the bride’s family, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The bride and groom would be surrounded by a huge group of their extended families and friends. It was to be hosted among the unique blend of music, flavor, and culture of world-renowned New Orleans. There would be a large bridal party and tons of events leading up to the big day. It was all richly romantic. Perfectly poetic.
But as the year 2020 counted down, the spread of COVID-19 ramped up, and the New Year 2021 began with more restrictions. The wedding venue could not accommodate the large guest list. Hard choices had to be made. The wedding was postponed. They were now looking into booking a winter wedding in December 2021.
Life is like that sometimes.
Dreams are derailed by forces beyond our control. Disappointments abound. Plan A fails. Plan B begins to crumble, and life itself becomes smaller, more isolated, less certain.
The dream wedding continued to unravel, and in the end, it boiled down to a party of 10 people: bride and groom, parents and grandparents, and sister of the bride, plus a violinist.
The wedding took place on the spring equinox of 2021 in a small garden at the Dallas Arboretum. The flowers were in bloom, and the bride floated down stone steps like a princess in a sparkling white gown, steadied by her father’s strong arm. The soft strains of the violin lifted all of us into a place above the brokenness of the world, a place infused with love and beauty, light and new life. Richly romantic. Perfectly poetic.
Life is like that sometimes.
And now as they celebrate two years of marriage, I can see how equipped they are to face life’s many challenges. The pandemic has officially ended, but the world is still not “normal.” There are lingering effects. Yet there is much to be celebrated. Sometimes small is beautiful. Sometimes love looks like sacrifice. Sometimes there is something bigger and more important waiting around the corner.
Life is like that sometimes.
Happy Anniversary, RJ and Natalie! May you have many more wonderful years together. And may your love always rise above your earthly circumstances, as you journey together through life.
My son got married this weekend to the most beautiful girl in the world, a princess actually, who stopped onlookers in their tracks as they witnessed flowers bursting into bloom when she walked by. Heaven itself beamed blessings and grace as my son's heart joined hers, fingers intertwined, lips breathing life into vows that reached the ears of the angels. Music danced to the beat of their hearts, and the promise of forever was sealed with a kiss. My son got married this weekend and I got the most beautiful daughter in the world, and my heart is still bursting.
the ground is soft and warm time keeps marching on nature awaits a burst of life but all I see is mud a seed lies underground buried in darkness deep its heart cracks open releasing new life but all I see is mud
For all who are willing to embark on the journey ahead – may you always bring back treasure.
you will be given instructions for the journey ahead - in due time you will be given a list of supplies - most you already possess fully equipped, you will walk into the unknown and bring back treasure
I see circling of the birds, gliding and swooping chasing and racing noisily, joyfully, trilling and thrilling, echoing, talking smack with each hard flap. Musical fellows are these winged creatures, and masterful linguists. They put on a show that delights and confounds. Then they line up on a wire to catch their breath, take a humble bow, and in a blink they are gone, with a flutter and a flap as we wave and we clap, calling for more. Bravo! Encore! But they all fly away. Show's over for today.
See everything in life as a gift.
everything in life holds the seeds of beauty ever ready to be scattered and sown waiting to be cracked wide open longing to release the essence of wonder therefore, see everything in your life as fertile ground watered by your tears and dreams ready at any moment to burst into bloom to spread like green vines entwining goodness of every kind to each of your circumstances until your life is a thing of great beauty and your heart spreads kindness and love wherever you go
This is for anyone who has to do hard things (like chemo – or just life). May you have the courage to just show up.
I don't want to go I don't want to go back I don't want to go back there I don't want to go back there ever I don't want to go back there ever again Lord, give me the strength to just show up.
Of course, I showed up. How could I not? My life depends on it.
In December 2022, I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. I am currently undergoing chemotherapy. I invite you to sign up for my monthly newsletter to follow my cancer journey.
Click HERE to follow my cancer journey.
A poem of hibernation and the offering of winter’s grace.
the moon waits for me at sunrise slowly melting into the sky each morning I don't walk by the oak holds steady around the corner thick arms open wide patiently she waits for the next embrace the fields hold their breath listening for my footfall the birds whistle and chirp my name is in their call but my door remains closed to the world the sun climbs high without seeing my face and like a flower that doesn't bloom until springtime I am offered winter's grace
You speak to me through the blades of grass with sparkling dewdrops like tiny tears holding my sadness in the palm of your hand, absorbing the sorrow in the breast of your broken heart a heart that cries rivers of tears and you wash away the sadness with the waters of your love, holding me in the palm of your hand there is healing in your touch as you bring me back to life and you set me on high and you let me live again
This is especially for everyone grappling with a new medical diagnosis, and for all who love and care for them.
it's a new language I'm learning to speak these medical words in this medical world with these medical people they stick in my throat these unfamiliar terms these foreign ideas that I don't want to speak these words should remain locked in closets or shoved deep under the bed these awful words I dread but speak them I must and face them head on there's no cure in hiding wishing they were gone no, I'm not fluent in this new language I retain only what I need to know and the words still stick in my throat
