A Heavy Load

Day 16 of the Soul Card Journey
with Elizabeth Crawford at Soul's Music
Soul Cards by Deborah Koff-Chapin at http://www.touchdrawing.com/

Sometimes the load

Traveler carries

reaches as high

as her head,

the path

pitches

steeply

before her;

her strength

falters,

and the worm

of doubt

creeps in:

"there is no way

I can

possibly

go on."

At those times,

Traveler

needs  to

stop a while

beside

a rippling stream,

listen to  water

trickling over

rocks,

raise her vision

beyond the journey

and the heavy load

to the horizon,

where eagles

soar the heavens,

where the vastness

of the sky

erases all

but glory

from her

mind;

to allow the

 sighing trees

to breathe into her

their deep peacefulness,

and renew her

strength.

After a time,

she then

is able to

lift her load

and resume

the path,

knowing it is

leading her

exactly where

she is

meant to go,

knowing

there will be

rest and ease

at the end

of this next

hard

segment

of the trail.

The Dark Knight of the Soul Journey

Day 14 of the Soul Card journey

with Elizabeth Crawford at Soul's Music

Soul Cards by Deborah Koff-Chapin at http://www.touchdrawing.com/

Traveler encounters

a Dark Knight

on her journey

of seeking

White Knights,

Blue Skies

and Questing Hearts.

With outstretched

hand,

he invites her

closer.

Somehow she

fails to see

the sharpened sabre 

in his

other hand.

Her instinct

warns her:

this way lies

danger.

But his honeyed words

convince her

to ignore her

inner voice.

Hopefully,

she steps up and

 accepts his hand.

She encounters

mortal wounds,

thus,

not once,

but more than once,

for the

teaching

is repeated

until the

lesson is learned.

Traveler

resumes her journey

wiser, and alone,

until the best

and most devoted

companion of her life,

a wise black wolf,

appears,

to dog

her steps and

keep her

from all harm.

Breaking Free

Day 8 of the Soul Card Journey
with Elizabeth Crawford at Soul's Music
Soul cards by Deborah Koff-Chapin at http://www.touchdrawing.com/

Breaking out

of her shell,

the traveler

is ready

to meet

life

head-on,

   to state her terms,

own her own

journey,

take the

Next Step.

It is time.

She has been

waiting

for

too long.

This is

the moment.

There is

no more time

to waste.

Dark and Light

[Soul Cards by Deborah Koff-Chapman,
who can be found here: http://www.touchdrawing.com/
Day 4 of the Soul Cards Journey]


Light and dark,
the two sides
of the inner voyager:
striving always
towards
the light,
she still
remembers
moments of weakness,
of darkness
and despair,
times when she
was so much less
than she
should or could
have been.

At some point,
she lifts
this dark companion
onto her back.
It weighs her down,
yet can't be left behind.
There are messages
and teachings
she must  embody.
She must carry
the weight
of this lifetime
until the end
of the journey.

Even so,
with the
added weight
of all of the
failures,
the embarrassments,
the imperfections,
the shortcomings,
the stumbling,
the flailing,
the falling,
and the
rising again,
with all
the stopping
and the
starting out,
the wayfarer
still arrives
at this  leg
of the journey,
more or less
on time.

Ahead
lies
the long
unknown path
leading to
the anteroom
of her
final destination.

A little late,
a little
the worse for wear,
but with an indomitable
and undefeated
spirit,
she continues on,
knowing
she gave it
all she had,
can't do it over,
can't do it better,
did the
best she could.