Saturday, December 14, 2019

SONG FOR SOLSTICE




With all of the things you have learned
from your long journeying,
with all of your heartache
that taught you to love and to cry,
and with all of your dreaming
that helped you to live,
with that same loving heart and merry laugh
that has brought you to the ocean's shore,
come out at dusk and celebrate
the full cold moon
at the place where the tide
kisses the tombolo,
then runs away, laughing.

Yesterday morning's dawn
approached as pink and fresh
as a young maiden
singing the new day in.
Tonight shows itself
as a wise old woman with knowing smile,
tapping her cane and hobbling.
But she still remembers her dancing feet,
she remembers,
and, in her heart, she is still dancing
across the beloved landscape
with joy.

You grew your soul
all green with wilderness
and wild with wolf-breath,
in a forest of great and ancient tree beings
breathing peace.
You owe them your every breath, 
each one their gift to us.

The journey has been astonishing, magical;
it has brought you here,
to the edge of the sea.
And now you are looking at
those far, snow-capped mountains.
The echo of the heron's call
and wild wolfsong at midnight
will keep you here a while.

The tree trunks you hug
breathe their smiles at you; they whisper,
"we waited for you, friend,
for all these many years."

The sea sings your soul-song,
the only song you ever knew.
It sang you out of the desert
and over the mountain pass
to the wild shores of Clayoquot Sound.
It has carried you so far,
and it is singing, still.

Come out at dusk to meet me
on the shortest day, in the place where
the tide  kisses the tombolo,
then runs away, laughing.
Let earth and sky
inform your grateful heart
that, finally and forever,
you are Home.


I read this poem last night to a packed house at the botanical gardens, all lit up for Christmas. Tofino really loves poetry! Sharing it this weekend with the Pantry of Poetry and Prose at Poets United. Wishing you all full moons, happy Solstice and lovely holidays, whatever tradition you honour.



22 comments:

  1. You could read this to me into infinity.

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  2. This is beautiful, Sherry, I am sure the packed house was memorized by the shear magic of your words.

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  3. Lovely! Wish I could have heard you read it.

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  4. I love how you end this wonderful poem - happy solstice to you too

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  5. The whole poem is a treasure possessing all the wealth of this life. What is important is the freedom, gratitude and love that come from each word. So beautiful Sherry.

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  6. A soul green with wilderness is the kind of soul I want to cultivate!

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  7. Trees whisper the best songs, especially when we take the time listen.

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  8. This is beyond beautiful, Sherry!❤️ Especially love; "Come out at dusk to meet me on the shortest day, in the place where the tide kisses the tombolo, then runs away, laughing."❤️

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  9. I wish I could have been there to listen to your reading, Sherry, but you’re so far away! How lovely to have a reading at the botanical gardens, especially at this time of year.

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  10. A big ambitious piece this, Sherry and you certainly pull it off beautifully. Must have been a treat for you too, to read something so strong - especially at Christmas. All power to you, Sherry and the light you share with everyone... x

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  11. Oh, Sherry. I can't even choose a favourite bit, it is all so stunning. I was suspended in time while reading this and sitting right there with you in the moment. Your words sit so beautifully right in the sweet centre of truth.

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  12. Happy Solstice Sherry! Loved this on so many levels--the sense of the wildness of us all and how we laugh and dance with joy through the gifts of nature--just gorgeous!

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  13. I had to google tombolo, those lines are especially musical, luv that flirtatious laughing tide
    Happy Sunday. Thanks for dropping by my blog today

    Much✏love

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  14. What an incredibly beautiful poem that is such a joy to read Sherry. It even brought tears to my eyes which must give it a 10/10.

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  15. "But she still remembers her dancing feet" oh, your feet are still dancing, but maybe to a slower rhythm :) I am sure it was SO VERY fulfilling to read this poem to the group of people!

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  16. Oh Sherry, this is so beautiful … with a wonderful lyrical quality that lends itself - mesmerizingly - to an oral presentation. And well done - you - giving a poetry reading … to a packed house, no less. (I'm afraid I'm still a bit of a fraidy-cat on that score.) It sounds like an absolutely stunning venue … a lovely memory to tuck away - and conjure forth, as needed ~ smiles ~

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  17. wished i was there among the audience.
    but anyway, i can read it here, feel the words and emotions and longing. and what a lovely poem i enjoyed.

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  18. ". . . where the tide
    kisses the tombolo,
    then runs away, laughing."

    How I wish I had been in the audience when you wore this poem and let it speak you. I love it.

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  19. Oh trees see and sing life from root to leaf, what they see, what they feel, and of those who drop by to sit beneath their limbs. Such a beautiful poem. I wish I could have heard you read it.

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  20. Just beautiful! I read it several times over, to keep on partaking in the joy, beauty and sense of freedom.

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  21. Lovely - especially "where the tide kisses the tombolo"

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