In the silence of the heart
grows the tender white lotus blossom
that is your life.
Water it gently with your tears.
Bathe it in the sunlight of your hopes
and the soft moonlight of your dreams.
Listen! for the trees are sighing,
holding out their arms as you approach,
hoping you will truly see them
at least one time before you die,
will let them hold you gently
as you cry.
Behind your sleeping eyes
lies the Watcher In the Woods,
the one who nudges you this way and that,
who sighs wearily, when you do not
heed her call,
this One who knows you best of all,
who has picked you up after every fall.
As we draw closer to the end of things,
our spirits slow, our voices gentle;
we are not nearly as certain as we once
so vociferously were.
It is time for silence now,
and reflection,
for looking back and for remembering,
with love.
We need much silence now,
a silence of the heart
weary from making its own way.
We speak more softly, and less often;
the young won't listen anyway.
They have to find
their own befuddled way,
their own steep price
in pain to pay.
Our song now is a murmuring brook
trickling over some knotted roots;
we are content to meander whimsically
through this just-before-winter,
letting go like the last withered leaf
on the gnarled old maple,
twirling dreamily down
to the mossy bank,
where we pause for a spell,
lulled by the water's flow.
So soft, its voice, as soft
as the somnolent song of our lives
the last notes sounding,
holding death at bay,
before they gently, softly, finally
fade away.
Hi Sherry, this stanza spoke to me:
ReplyDeleteAs we draw closer to the end of things,
our spirits slow, our voices gentle;
we are not nearly as certain as we once
so vociferously were.
It is time for silence now,
and reflection,
for looking back and for remembering,
with love.
I agree with you that now is the time to reflect and look back. It sounds kind of fatalistic, and I suppose it is. I feel more silent now, kind of resiged, maybe less hopeful. But it is time to look back and reflect on all the good, of which there was much. Smiles.
I love this gentle flow of heartful words that go deep inside. "In the silence of the heart / grows the tender white lotus blossom / that is your life." The lines remind me of the Buddhist philosophy where 'a white lotus blossom' is symbolic of spiritual purity as well as mental clarity. However it takes a lifetime to get to the meaning of life. So beautiful, Sherry!
ReplyDelete"Water it gently with your tears.
ReplyDeleteBathe it in the sunlight of your hopes
and the soft moonlight of your dreams."
I like this way of caring for the self, and I feel this caring echoing throughout your entire poem. It is what engaged self and, indeed, what allows self to meander more as we age more and more toward the end of life. But who knows the end? Thank you for taking me on this journey.
Oh I love that first stanza and the way you describe nature is so beautiful like "the last withered leaf
ReplyDeleteon the gnarled old maple,
twirling dreamily down
to the mossy bank
It's not often I am moved to tears by a poem, but man, Sherry, this one did it. The silence of the heart, the only silence we will ever know. And even then, there is a "still, small voice." I love how the young won't listen anyway. Truer words were never spoken, lol, I'm just a crone. Love you! Amy
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing poem - I love how you guide us through the grounding safety and beauty the natural world can share with us - long may we have the journey and learn to listen - Jae
ReplyDeleteoh sherry this moves me so, especially the bits about the trees and their silent speakign
ReplyDeleteA beautiful poem reminding us that it is time of silence and quiet reflection remembering with love....Rall
ReplyDelete