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Saturday, March 4, 2017

THE LAND OF BONES

A trail near my apartment


Through gates of wisdom we,
most hopefully, step.
It is time for the dream of our life
to be coming true,
for the being of all that we truly are
to flower.
Why wait?
Time is fleeting, faster
by the hour.

I passed through the valley of elm and ash,
their branches entwined to form a protected path.
At the end of this path is the portal
to the land of bones.
I have the feeling
I am not alone.

Internally, I am shown,
where my journey lies.
I must cross this littered landscape,
with a seer's eyes,
find and pick up 
a backbone, a wishbone, 
a funny bone and
a hollow little bone*--
only the ones that are my very own.

Perched on a quaking limb,
a single prodigious egg sits in a nest.
I hear it crack, and then my quest
is blessed.
A thousand cranes lift up, into the sky.
I am granted the gift of Wonder,
and put it in my pack.
There be spirits here,
and there is no turning back.

Raven sits before me, huddled on the path.
She speaks a single gobble-cry,
turns into Flight
without a sound.
Her flight path has teachings in it
for who we are:
citizens of earth,
grounded, yet sky-bound.

When she lands on a topmost scrag,
she points her wing into the forest dark.
I quake, but have no choice,
my inner guide informs.
When I pass through Night so dark,
I emerge into the morning light
transformed.

It is frightening:
Nothing will ever be the same again.
It is liberating:
Nothing will ever be the same again.

When Raven calls to you, 
and points her feathery wing,
listen closely for the
message she will bring.


*Indigenous people believe these are the foundations of our being: backbone for strength, wishbone for dreams, funny bone for essential humour and a hollow little bone, for trust and faith in the Great Mystery.

It is also believed that all women came from the elm, all men from the ash.

I wrote this in March 2015, and am sharing it for the good folk at Poets United, in the Poetry Pantry.


30 comments:

  1. "grounded, yet sky-bound." the line is the portal to wisdom & what a beautiful journey this poem is.....

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  2. Thank you for sharing this Sherry. It is beautiful and mystical. Makes me appreciate my bones and my purpose.

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  3. It is frightening:
    Nothing will ever be the same again.
    It is liberating:
    Nothing will ever be the same again.

    Wonderful. I loved the citizens of earth lines too :)

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  4. I love the second to the last stanza. For I, too, believe that change is can be wonderful or devastating. Let's hope for the former.

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  5. Wow! Every word of this speaks to me so powerfully.

    Now that you are settled in your new home ... how about putting together a book of your mystical nature poems? (This would be a good title piece ... though there may well be others that would suit, too.)

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    1. Rosemary, that is a wonderful idea. It appeals to me. Thank you.

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  6. Sherry, you observe and feel so much when you walk in nature. I agree with Rosemary's suggestion...you do so often write on this mystical nature theme!

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  7. Thank you for sharing this wondrous insight. I am taken away

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  8. I love this. You could have written it today:
    "At the end of this path is the portal
    to the land of bones.
    I have the feeling
    I am not alone."
    Thank you for the lore of first peoples, explaining the symbolism of your poem. Backbone and jawbone and wishbone are the ones Ruby Sales cites, but her indigenous genes are from a different tribe--and she's a bit of a poet too.

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  9. the raven's wing, the bones only one's own and the cranes...each image totally priceless.

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  10. This is so tenderly and beautifully written Sherry❤️ especially like; "Perched on a quaking limb, a single prodigious egg sits in a nest. I hear it crack, and then my quest is blessed."

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  11. There are many reasons for us to listen to Raven's message. Sadly we are so wrapped up in our quest for greed we are totally blind to the first signs of of own destruction. Humanity deserves it but the natural world doesn't.

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  12. You can never go wrong following Raven. Never.

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  13. This is incredibly beautiful. <3

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  14. I agree with Sherri B. - This truly is incredibly beautiful - to select a single line or image would be an insult to the rest - it is one of a piece a warrior woman wonder.

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  15. This is so well observed... love how you let the forest be part of you. I know you will love the haibun prompt tomorrow... I just know it.

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  16. Beautifully written. So much we can learn from the tradition of the indigenous people!

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  17. I felt your step pick up and by the end you had morphed into one of the wild animals for me.

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  18. I like this description of a vision quest. Quests like these do change us, and of course, I always hope that it is for the better.

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  19. This is truly outstanding, Sherry. Wow!

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  20. Beautifully penned,dear Sherry.

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  21. That picture is by your apartment? Gorgeous! Time is precious, Sherry! A stunning piece! Hugs!

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  22. Such a gorgeous sense of spirit in this piece--a Wow for me!

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  23. Wonder, which trees are reserved the transgendered soul, Sherry. As we experience life, from both side.

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  24. Really like this mystical journey you took us on. You made it as real as it can be.

    Elizabeth

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  25. Lovely ~ mystical ~ and spiritually edifying.

    "It is frightening:
    Nothing will ever be the same again.
    It is liberating:
    Nothing will ever be the same again."

    words that leave an impassioned echo. So true of journeying on.

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  26. thoughtful and creative lines. enjoyed them.

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  27. Great in taking us on a mystical journey, Sherry.

    http://imagery77.blogspot.my/2017/03/there-was-no-sense-of-purpose.html

    Hank

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  28. What a wonderful poem. I was most struck by "When I pass through Night so dark,
    I emerge into the morning light
    transformed."

    It speaks to my work, "Darkness in the Era of Trump." And that is what I am hoping for, we will emerge in the morning, transformed.

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  29. This is a fairy tale in the making, and I do luv the ones that end in happily ever after

    Thanks for dropping by my Sunday Standard this week
    much love...

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