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Thursday, December 16, 2010

A Talmud Angel

[image from Flickr.com]

"Every blade of grass has its Angel
that bends over it and whispers....
'grow,grow'."
The Talmud

[I penned this poem for a dear friend who is walking through the kind of days where the spirit grows faint at the prospect of putting one foot in front of the other. Days when life is pain and the heart grows weary. I post it here to encourage any of you who are experiencing dark days right now. In the midst of the fuss and frenzy of the holidays,  it can sometimes look like most people have privileged and easy and happy lives,(they don't; no one is immune from trouble and sadness). All the hoopla can make one's own circumstances seem harder to bear. This is to remind us all that the new year will dawn, and spring will come again. Flowers will bloom, sunshine will bless us all, and a happier day will dawn for one and all. That is my wish for 2011. Let us all continue to  Live In Hope!]

How do you
keep hope alive
in times when
the March wind blows
and hoarfrost forms
around the edges
of your heart?
Times when
the winter wolf
stalks your footsteps
and you doubt the sun
will ever warm
your cheeks again?


Those are the days
when my eyes
seek the first light
of morning,
receiving each day
as a new beginning
with the possibility
of new perceptions;
days when I remember
there is a
larger landscape
than the one we see;
when I know,
if I look out through
my small window,
I may only see gray clouds
over the city.
Yet if I enlarge
that window
and my vision,
I can see the whole sky,
a patch of blue
just breaking
on the horizon.


In those times
when all around me
seems to be
chaotic and dissembling,
I have come
to understand
the universe is
simply rearranging,
through times of transition,
and on the other side
there may be
something wonderful
waiting that
I can't yet see.


I remember
that every cell and seed
in the universe
has one purpose:
to grow.


Even when living
feels too hard,
I still believe in life.
It is the underlying principle
of the universe.
In the midst of war,
political imprisonment, torture
and the worst that humankind
can do to one another,
a human’s instinct
is solely to survive,
to live long enough
to arrive at
a better day.


When your soul is
sorrowing and defeated,
and resists putting
one tired foot
in front of the other,
what I see is
the hugeness
of your spirit
that survived
the trenches
of childhood,
and the heartbreak
of lost love,
to get to this place
where you feel
you are
coming up
empty.


With all of my belief,
in you, in life
and in tomorrow,
(I who have walked
through similar
barren wastelands),
until you can
believe, again,
yourself,
let me be the
Talmud angel
who bends over the
solitary blade of grass
that is your life,
and whispers to it:
“Grow! Grow!”

31 comments:

  1. Beautiful, I think you meant 2011...
    I think we all need to hear this. It appears, all shiny and pretty, as people dash about, but not always the case. It is time of turmoil and emotions, reminders of your past and worries of our futures~

    Love your imagery...Great Job!I'm printing this one out for my fridge or my memo board! Thank you~xXx

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  2. Thanks, Ellie, I seem to have skipped an entire year. Yay, one more year before the end of the Mayan calendar! Whew!

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  3. We all need to here this from time to time....growing is never an easy task..especially this time of year...memories good and bad, happy and sad....much to be thankful for, much to long for...all in the need of growth...thank you...bkm

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  4. Sherry this pulled on my heart. How beautifully put.
    Pamela

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  5. A feeling poem that comes from a giving place. I liked it very much.

    And thanks for stopping by my place so many times with kind words and encouragement.

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  6. yes.

    sometimes it's not til later that i look back and realize that the universe had something much bigger in store for me.

    i think this would be a really shitty time of the year to be struggling - and my prayer for anyone in that spot is for them to have a Miracle. A miracle is a shift in perception, and with that is a return of strength and freedom. Just wish i knew how to bottle that one up, lol. I know it's possible though, it's happened to me before. That moment when i just knew 'it' had to be that way.

    Heartbreak hurts. I mean, it's possible to physically feel it. :( Hate that part of being a mere mortal. And we keep getting up and doing it! Thank god for the return of the moments though when you just know it's all been worth it.

    You write a beautiful poem :D

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  7. Sherry!!!
    oh this is a beautiful piece! Yes yes yes! Be the Talmud angel for as many of us as you can - we all need that whisper, sometimes.
    Going back in for more treatment tomorrow - I wrote a piece about sleeping tablets today... I occasionally write about the reality of this medical life... but I always feel reluctant and hesitant.. because I would rather be the Talmud angel all the time :)

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  8. Thank you all for your comments. Each one means so much! Shaista, we love it when you write about the real stuff-then we know when to whisper our encouragement! Sometimes we are the angel, sometimes we are the grass~we all take turns! I find your spirit very radiant, in the midst of everything!

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  9. Wonderful post, Sherry! Very much enjoyed the read! =D

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  10. A shiver ran across my rib cages, at the very last lines...wow Sherry....just wow.

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  11. Sherrrrrrrry!!! one word "EXCELLENT"
    ))))))applause((((((

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  12. What an affirmation. Very nicely done.

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  13. There are times when it is hard to keep the faith alive. This is a very special poem, Sherry, containing your personal philosophy of hope.

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  14. This is a deeply heart felt prayer. Thank you for being the Talmud Angel for so many of us. If we each whispered, "Sherry, Grow, Grow." You might get blown away and then what would we do? But, I will whisper and remember that we must take turns being both angel and blade of grass. Thank you,

    Elizabeth

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  15. Sherry, This actually brought a tear to my eyes. Your words touched a tender spot. Think I will have a beer now. Loved this lady!
    Wow!

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  16. My dear Sherry,
    This is a very uplifting poem from you today. We can get so bogged down with the trials and tribulations of life that we forget how to actually live.

    Thank you for these beautiful words and thoughts.

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  17. What an amazing message is contained within these words. :)

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  18. Ah yes, this is so beautiful, Sherry. I do hear this poem speaking to me indeed!One has to keep hope alive and put one foot in front of the other. Hugs!

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  19. faith is something that keep one going most of the time.

    stunning imagery.
    love the wonders on growth.

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  20. So, so beautiful. And, where there is life, there IS hope.
    Really, an enchanting read Sherry.

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  21. the universe is
    simply rearranging,
    through times of transition..

    It does seem easy to grasp, when you put it like this. I was glad to get a second chance to read these profoundly moving words, Sherry.

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  22. What a wonderful, uplifting message, Sherry. If you don't mind, I shall print it and pin it on my inspiration board. You've capsulized sentiments that other authors spend 300 pages expressing. Your brilliance shines in every stanza.

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  23. I believe you born to lift the heaviest objects in the universe....without lifting a finger.

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  24. Wonderful, Sherry. Your friend must have felt better just knowing you wrote this for her.
    I particularly love this part:
    "to live long enough
    to arrive at
    a better day."
    K

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  25. bracing words.
    this hit hard:

    a human’s instinct
    is solely to survive,
    to live long enough
    to arrive at
    a better day.

    as a species we are plagued by hope. it keeps us alive.
    even when we don't even believe in it anymore.

    and the stanza that begins:
    When your soul is
    sorrowing and defeated,

    has the feel of some of rumi's or hafiz's best work, (“I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being.”)

    it's a powerful thing to speak that kind of light into the heart of another.

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  26. enlarge
    that window...

    and this poem does, beautifully! The first stanza had me sighing all the way to the ending. Powerful words from your heart and soul.

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  27. Good to see this one again, Sherry!

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  28. magnificent Sherry. This reminds me of my spiritual direction session last week. My director asked me what is it that allows me to feel blessed in the midst of many difficult times overlapping. I sat in silence for a while. What rose to the surface was the word "memory." I remember all the times that were difficult in the past, I remember that they passed, and these memories lift me...faith was the next word that arose from more silence...together with memory faith carries me along and then I can see, feel, know blessing.

    Anyway, your beautiful poem made me think of this...it feels connected somehow.

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  29. Beautiful! Thankyou for these encouraging words.

    So glad I came to visit!

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  30. This and the preceding poem are wonderful companion pieces, full of love and hope.

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