Abundance
by Amy Schmidt, in memory of Mary Oliver
It’s impossible to be lonely
when you’re zesting an orange.
Scrape the soft rind once
and the whole room
fills with fruit.
Look around: you have
more than enough.
Always have.
You just didn’t notice
until now.
With thanks to Mary Lou van Schaik
Equanimity Blessing by John O’Donohue
With the joy of the sea coming home to the shore,
May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.
As the wind loves to call all things to dance,
May your gravitas be balanced by grace.
Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,
May your thoughts incline toward reverence and respect.
As water takes whatever shape that it’s in,
So free May you be to become who you are.
As silence smiles on the other side of what’s said,
May your sense of irony bring perspective.
As time remains free of all that it frames,
May your mind stay clear of all that it names.
And may your prayer of listening deepen enough,
to hear in the depths the laughter of children!
With thanks to Ilse Turnsen
Spring
Spring, hides asleep beneath the white.
Joy suppressed , will reignite.
Optimism will take flight.
For now, we wait, and holding tight.
We hide neath down throughout the night.
My buried longing, a glowing ember.
Hope and songbirds I remember……. Submitted by author Jen Currie
The Gift by Shaun Christopher Henry
The luxury of thinking
Truth in stories sound
Avenues of exploration
Connect on sacred ground
It is a wonderful opportunity
These learnings that unfold
All drawn here, time afforded
What we do remains untold
Some obligation now befalls
In the harbour for this crew
Freedom from what assails
Sailing to stay true
Where our boats do moor
Our compass has the way
Guided guides, we’re guiding
Each and every day
And is that not the point
No matter where oceans flow
Kindly lifting layers
Wherever we may go
It is not simply a calling
Or project of affinity
It is powerful in purpose
Most important responsibility
Swaying struggle does confound
Chosen of the scarcity
Somewhere in the roiling waves
Diving depths for clarity
Perched in the crow’s nest
Broad is the view
Finding the right berth
Not adrift, nor askew
The all-consuming questions
Their ever-present stare
An open space afforded
At the cost of souls laid bare
If we can see to an end
If stormy waters navigate
If extended our forward bridge
If, then is the state
Now we must voyage proudly
Reflecting where we’ve come
New waters on the horizon
What, but Carpe Diem
We cannot be fearful
Of the ripples in our wake
We can only be courageous
When the future is at stake
So, take care of each and all
Look for the ways to lift
Remember you are enough
And to lead, is a true gift.
North of Superior by Guy Hoogendyke
From late hours of night and the northern lights
we witnessed Superior reborn,
While traveling the north, the heavens brought forth
the birth of another morn…
The first signs of light illumine the night
and the billowy clouds in the east,
yet nothing is heard, no cry of a bird
no sound of man or of beast.
Silent fog enshrouds in mysterious clouds
The damp and the glistening earth,
the expanse like a sea, so vast and so free
Wakens to another day’s birth.
The lake smooth as glass, yet as minutes pass
the water is disturbed by a breeze
The mist slowly recedes showing silver dew beads
on the quietly rustling trees.
The smell of the damp, the fire in the camp
acknowledge the arrival of day
Rays of sunlight break on the shore of the lake
reflecting bright in the sparkling bay.
The ever-lightening sky shades of vegetable dye
changes from grey to the palest of blue
Forests of birch and pine standing tall, strong and fine
cast shadows as the sun bursts through.
A burnt orange sphere appearing ever so near,
sheds crimson light on the land
The last star of the night extinguishes its light
and another new day is at hand.
The forest awakes on the shores of the lake,
a moose trampling twigs is heard
The gulls sail on high, squirrels hasten by,
trees resound with the songs of the birds.
The golden heaven speaks out, now without any doubt
the glorious morning shall stay
The good earth is told to accept and behold
once more the gift we call day.
One’s senses were heightened, one’s heart was brightened
One felt incredibly amazed and awed
At the wonders of the world, life’s beauty unfurled
And the omnipresent glory of God.
Wandering Wakefield 