life: acoustic & amplified

poetry, quotes & thoughts about life

Archive for the month “July, 2016”

04 Jul 2016

perspective ;)



No! ne’er was mingled such a draught

In palace, hall, or arbor,

As freemen brewed and tyrants quaffed

That night in Boston Harbor

       – Oliver Wendall Holmes


fireworks photos by Fisherman Dan @ Branford, CT

Freedom only belongs 

to those who choose to use it, 

but ‘belongs’ is not really the right word,

because freedom will only exist for those who let go completely,

those who allow it to stay free. 

Freedom, unused or manipulated,

is no longer freedom. 

Like any great gift,

the cost is great, 

even so, 

freedom does nothing 

until it is received,

open handed,

open spirited,

used in practical living. 

I’ve sat in prisons

for many years

not realizing the doors were unlocked. 

Granted, many of the doors were difficult to get open,

people I trusted TOLD me they were locked,

some were rusted over,

others had puzzle latches

I had to figure out,

but one by one they all opened,

and I stepped out into 

sunshine. 

Increasingly lighter,

increasingly comprehending of this grace-thing called freedom.

The mystery, the magnitude,

the path, the fire, the gift

called freedom. 

There I go again,

falling in love with free will,

falling in love with free air, surf and sky,

falling in love with me. 

🇺🇸

AL


God of love set us free

Posted in Change, Choice, courage, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Letting Go, Life, Love, Trust, truth, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment
04 Jul 2016

this spud’s for you


The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.

     / Elie Wiesel


Pomme Frites

drizzled with truffle oil,

sprinkled with sea salt…

who can stop,

once you’ve tasted heaven?

Why have we been taught to protect our hearts?

to live without passion?

told that our sensitivity is a weakness,

not a gift?

We settle for what we consider control,

which is a sham,

an illusion of the most fragile,

arrogant tomfoolery. 

We shut down,

become indifferent,

avoid the messy feelings,

shields holding our hearts at bay, 

afraid of breaking, 

in desperation, keeping grief out of our business,

allowing life, and love, to go limp and cold, 

lying in the oily, paper-lined, basket,

no one wants to eat this. 

What will it take to taste ourselves again?

to reach for another emotion,

and then another,

unable to resist,

as we do for another hot, crunchy, delicious french fry?

Only when we allow all of our emotions,

the full spectrum of our living,

pain and sorrow,

love and joy,

all felt passionately 

within our living moments,

our numbered days,

can we become our true selves,

will we allow our highest and best to be revealed?

Only then, can we even begin to step into our lives,

our true hearts,

the love, which we truly deserve,

our humanity. 

Once we have have been stripped of our need for perfection,

love begins,

once we get a taste of this,

we can’t stop reaching,

exploring the shadows,

and the light,

eating the good fruit of the ground,

opening further and further 

to the mystery dug in this ground. 

Only then can we begin to open into our own unique and precious gifts

Only then,are we finally ready to begin authentically sharing ourselves, 

and our gifts,

with others. 

🍟

AL

let us never forget to make our days count and be aware that how we live, and what we leave behind us, matters. 

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, balance, Becoming Yourself, beloved, Choice, emotions, find art at pinterest, Freedom, Gratitude, Grieving, healing | Leave a comment
03 Jul 2016

return to me   


The time will come 

 when, with elation 

 you will greet yourself arriving 

 at your own door, in your own mirror 

 and each will smile at the other’s welcome, 
and say, sit here. Eat. 

 You will love again the stranger who was your self.

 Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart 

 to itself, to the stranger who has loved you 
all your life, whom you ignored 

 for another, who knows you by heart. 

 Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, 
the photographs, the desperate notes, 

 peel your own image from the mirror. 

 Sit. Feast on your life. 

💞

Love After Love by Derek Walcott


     I want to make a poem
that slips into the heart stream 
quietly, with no great splash
just a graceful entry, 
with minimal ripples
which plunges deeply upon entering
and allows the mud to settle gracefully around it. 
I want to make a poem
which allows the heart to trust,
to open,
to flower in it’s own time
knowing, for sure,
   it is dependable,
steady,
Words written to last a lifetime,
through the fiercest storms,
    though the world burn,
and the mountains crumble. 
Words of love
    so beautiful 
           so eternal 
they come to life
   each time they are read,
    or spoken,
and anyone who dares to read the poem I make
cannot help but
   find within themselves  
clouds of peace
   wrapped up in thick blankets of joy 
  and will forever know for sure 
    they are 
          beloved
💞
AL 

I smiled at myself 

in the mirror this morning

said, ‘good morning’ 

to the crazy haired girl

looking at me with happy eyes

I make happy coffee 

and smile as the heaven-brew

hits morning tastebuds 

I have many thoughts this morning

plans and inspiration 

floating through

I smile at the fresh pink fuzz

on the backyard tree

at the birds hopping through grass

at the dirty pig statue

looking so perfectly thrilled

To be so dirty

I believe I will live this quote today:

The only thing that ultimately matters is to eat an ice cream

cone, play a slide trombone, plant a small tree, good God, now

you’re free.

– Ray Manzarek 

Hmmm wonder where I’ll find that trombone?

💃🏻

AL


Posted in attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, beloved, Choice, connection, courage, Encouragement, find art at pinterest, Freedom, friendship, healing, Hope, Letting Go, Life, Love, mystery | Leave a comment
02 Jul 2016

page turner   


A hill or edge or precipice,

horizon out and mystery

above, beneath, within.
Departure, limen: driveway,

pier, or gate, or aisle,

a road; and a goodbye.
A parting; sorrow, mostly

masked, and wonder.

Fear of what is next.
Riven wide enough for light,

made empty space enough 

for pouring in of this:
a breathing— listen— low,

a hope, a vision, passion, 

story told and still unfolding,
woven in your bones and 

pouring through your veins,

and every other soul.
In all those faces, rapt

or gaping, still unknowing,

God has set a flame
not yet but soon to burst,

to shine, to speak. That’s why

Christ came, and came again: 
to breathe it back into us. All

the love of God is there, now,

in your hands, your wanting hands.
The space awaits. The silence 

breathes. The road an arm, a hand.

Begin. 

__________________  

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net


Strange to realize 

on our very worst day of life

someone else is having their very best. 

Every death 

is countered with birth. 

Every grieving tear 

with belly laughter.

On the night we see the stars fall

the sun is rising on the other side of the world. 

The human spirit cannot be conquered

we rise again with each fall,

else we do not rise at all,

and come to the end,

which is another new beginning. 

Tides come in

as tides go out. 

With every broken heart

there is an answering new moment of love. 

For every first kiss 

a final slamming of the door – 

figuratively or literally. 

For every threshold we cross

we must cross again in a new moment. 

We each have moments of glory 

moments of defeat. 

Worry is the paper tiger 

which strips our moments of joy. 

Illusions of control hide behind our eyes

always revealed to be a waste of our precious resources. 

There is a time for every season. 

In all we are to bring the sacrifice of praise. 

It is the amazing hat-trick to the healing of our wounds 

that in every single circumstance 

we stand in the truth of that moment

and we give thanks,

or curse the darkness. 

Our choices lead us ever onward

toward the life

we will leave behind,

life happens while we make plans,

all we have slips daily through our hands. 

What will we do with your extraordinary, astonishing gift?

🖐🏼

AL


photo sources found at http://www.pinterest.com

Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, beauty, Becoming Yourself, Change, Choice, connection, courage, Encouragement, Faith, find art at pinterest, inspiration, Letting Go, Life, Love, Miracles, mystery, Passion, Purpose, Reality | Leave a comment
01 Jul 2016

stillpoint


Psalm of the Threshold
Eternal One, I praise you on this threshold;

         the door opening is to you.

Under your eye I pack my belongings;

         in your arms I move to a new place.
By your Spirit guide my hand

         to take only what you give me

         and leave the rest;

to bring with me what is truly need

         and leave behind what is unneeded.

Give me faith to trust 

         what cannot be left behind,

and to release what I thought was part of me

         but was only the leaves of a season.

Give me grace to say goodbye

         even to myself

and turn and welcome the new day,

         even in my own soul.
God of time and story,

         may I ever dwell on thresholds,

between then and not yet,

         in the present, moving.

By your grace open doors;

         by your grace lead me through them.

For every door is your eye

         and every path is the palm of your hand.

__________________ 

Steve Garnaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

http://www.unfoldinglight.net

so I stand at the threshold 

of everything new

looking for the key

to the open front door

I stand at the edge 

of all that I am

wanting what could be

instead of what is

afraid of not knowing

yet knowing I know

cause I’ll never walk alone

The best is yet to come

🚪

AL


I will not die an unlived life. 

I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire.

I choose to inhabit my days, 

to allow my living to open me, 

to make me less afraid, 

more accessible, 

to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, 

a torch, 

a promise.

 I choose to risk my significance; 

to live 

so that which came to me as a seed

 goes to the next as a blossom 

and that which came to me as a blossom, 

goes on as fruit.

🍇🍎🍏🍊🌽🍒🍓🍋🍉🍑

Dawna Markova


Posted in action, Adventure, attitude, awareness, Becoming Yourself, Beginning, Change, Choice, connection, courage, Faith, find art at pinterest, Letting Go, Life, Miracles, mystery, soul and spirit, strength, Trust, Vulnerability, www.pinterest.com | Leave a comment

Post Navigation

Newer Entries →