Water comes first, then we follow,
gasp in a big breath of air, and then we cry.
Thus we are introduced to the world
as it always was and always will be.
Water: essential, blessed,
part of our beings from our very first day.
Through the Sacred Medicine Wheel I journeyed,
dipped my toes in a magical sea,
soul thrumming with the song of the waves.
My sign, my element, my spirit's home:
Mother Ocean.
Above, the sky, the air, the vast expanse,
curving over all
the great blue bowl of aether,
underfoot, the earth, brown and humble
and mothering.
I bow to you, Sky, I sing with you, Wind,
I dance in the rain, laughing
at the great clap of thunder,
feel the rushing whoosh of wind on my face,
raindrops falling on my spirit,
cleansing me anew,
healing the riven places, washing
all negative energy away.
When I am clean,
when the Great Bowl Above grows dark,
I creep homeward,
settle beside a crackling fire,
remember the winking stars,
the great wheeling seabirds,
wonder at the beauty gracing this span of time
that is still mine.
To the earth I bow, in gratitude,
in homecoming.
It waits to receive me
when that final moment comes,
when I will become one
with All That Is.
First, there was water,
at the end
only earth and sky.
One from 2015, when my engines were firing a little better, for Sumana's open link at What's Going On.
This is a beautiful poem of the Circle of Life, Sherry. A poem of birth, life, and death. Just lovely.
ReplyDeleteOh the last 3 lines... so haunting. What a beautiful poem, Sherry. My first book was titled Water to Water... symbolic of that cycle of beginnings and endings...
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think of "water water everywhere but not a drop to drink". Love your last three lines. Love water, clean water, where would we be without it. Well....dead!
ReplyDeleteWe are all so fortunate to experience this phenomenon called 'life'. How beautifully you've expressed, Sherry! I especially love the tone of gratitude.
ReplyDelete"raindrops falling on my spirit,
ReplyDeletecleansing me anew"
You capture the constant renewal in the universe of earth and sky. O lovely, Sherry, your view of death as joining the "one." And the gratitude for it all. Thank you so much for this sensitive and personal poem.
A stunning earth and sky poem, Sherry! I love the description of birth in the opening lines, the thought of a ‘soul thrumming with the song of the waves’ and the contrast of colour and place in ‘the great blue bowl of aether, underfoot, the earth, brown and humble and mothering’ – and such a true ending.
ReplyDeleteCycle of life includes most of the things and wheres that we choose, love the way Sherry, I love the way you've told and snuck in some metaphorical descriptions. Of my life I've generally followed the open door, careers, mates, and fun amongst a few sad encounters. I loved going to the beach, there eating, swimming, and playing with the kids. With aging sneaking in I haven't gone to the beach in the ten years we've lived close to the Gulf of MEXICO.
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning ending in this wise and uplifting poem - I love that you inhabit the beauty of nature and share it with us - that magical rhythm of life and beyond - Jae
ReplyDelete