Poet's Page ~ February 2009

Come, Walk in My Story
Our individual lives are very much like stories in many ways, stories told in the first person. And while there may be many characters and scenes in our stories, there is a point at which a special part is written for those special people who come to walk with us awhile. They may come as friends, family, teachers, children, lovers. Whatever their role, we may wish to say:

Come, walk in my story.
It’s a tale that can only be told
in the footsteps and the heartbeats
of each and every day.

Come, walk in my story.
You need only know enough of
what has gone before to sense
the reality of what is now.

Come, walk in my story.
I welcome you,
I have prepared a place for you,
I eagerly anticipate the communion
of mind, of soul, of body –
the trinity of spirit that each of us is
and which is now expressing as one.

Come, walk in my story.
In the pages of tomorrow
we will read the theme
unfolding here today.

Come, walk in my story.
There is mystery here and
meaning we can find and understand.

Come, walk in my story.
I love you, I surrender to you,
I openly dedicate my mind’s attention,
my soul’s awareness, and my body’s
comforting presence to your happiness
and growth in the days and nights of
our time together.

Come, walk in my story.

jbm

Poet’s Page ~ January 2009

A while ago, I participated in a workshop that related to setting and achieving life goals. In one of the exercises we worked with the idea of defining “success” as “keeping our word” or “doing what we said we would do.” We were then invited to select a role that had meaning for us, declare ourselves successful in that role, and set a short term goal to demonstrate our success. I declared myself a “successful poet” and set a goal of participating in a poetry reading within a designated time.

I followed through on that goal and since that time, Wayne and I have self-published a book of my poetry. Faced with the opportunity of a new year of living and of writing a monthly piece for our website, I have decided to move from “jottings” to “poetry” and my goal is to share a poem (or two) each month. I want to inspire myself to write “new” poems with this goal, but some will be drawn from my book, “Orange Cat,” beginning with this one, found on page 32.

I don’t know where I’ve been or what seeds I’ve sown
that are bearing their strange and perfect fruit right now.
I don’t know what other lives have left their mark,
making me this interesting and sometimes dismaying
mix of generosity and fear.

If I did know what path brought me here,
would I search it out and better try to read its secrets?
If I could know who I’ve been and who I’ve loved
and how I’ve let my lives unfold,
would I try on those faces again and seek to understand
what message those eyes held for me?

Maybe it is well that I do not know such things.
Maybe it is well that what has gone before
has simply brought me here and it is enough.
Maybe it is well that everything I need or need to know
is right where I am, as I think these thoughts,
write these words, let them tumble onto the page
with only a little editing.

jbm