Memorial

We will draw you in

to the circle of laughter,

we will draw this robe of memory

around you. We will draw

a picture of your life,

we will draw compassionate conclusions

In this act of celebrating you

we celebrate our own humanity.

We celebrate the unseen ties

that hold us up, and hold us, thus, together

We have done well

for we have reaped the opportunity

to lift your life

so golden rays of sun

would shine on it

and light us all.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 30, 2017

Our Transformation

When you looked up close at us

we were a misfit bunch —

none of our shapes exactly fit,

our parts adapted from some other use

We limped and lumbered along somehow —

it seemed remarkable, in fact,

that we had come this far,

and then the light shifted

and the vectors of our power aligned

Those parts that didn’t fit

never supported us.

As our lines straightened

and our rays gained strength,

the jalopy of our former sense of self

chugged to a stop,

abandoned in our upward climb.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 28, 2017

Questions

And in these mostly indoor days,

these indoor preparation days

of dusting and of vacuum cleaning,

sorting through and seeking meaning

What thoughts emerge, what entertainment

plays upon my mind? What dreams

might I remember, what stories

do I find?

And have I caught the blessing

of the half moon through bare trees

at four? And of the birch leaves at noon

that left their limbs like a flock of birds?

And the moments, and their gratitude

when I notice the particulars of the day?

©Wendy Mulhern

November 27, 2017

Older

There are ways these days

in which I feel older,

the tones of my chords

now including sixes, sevens, nines

There is a darkness on the undersides

where previously unknown fears

have flared and charred,

thereby disarmed,

but taste of fire remains

There is a softness now

to my approach, my certainty

is firmer, but its segments shorter —

I look more humbly for direction,

I take stock sooner

to adjust my course

The memory of dipping into tears

is closer to my eyes

and what I care about

is closer to the surface

but more than ever

runs clear and deep.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 25, 2017

All the you there is

Close your eyes

and feel the stream, the roar

of presence — you can’t not be here,

can’t fail to be aware

Your pulse, your life, your consciousness

is strong — stronger than you think —

and pay attention:

it isn’t something that can turn off,

it isn’t something

that sometimes flows within you

There is no you without this life.

You have no inert state,

and the signal that is you 

is never weakened.

How could it be?

It’s all the you there is.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 24, 2017

Holding On

You have leaned into each other now

for so long that one might say

you have grown together,

one might say

neither of you could stand

without the other

though you are both strong

It’s just clear

through all the turns

of life’s adventure

you will take each other

and hold on.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 23, 2017

Needed

The magic of you

is in the place where you find yourself

drawn to where you’re needed

like deer to a waterhole

Your life blooms here —

bright growth along the vein,

your presence makes this wilderness

rich with heart, with meaning

The pattern stays

even when the water

has seeped away —

you are marked by this place

even as it is marked by you.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 21, 2017

Destiny

Don’t worry —

this is not a place

where you can go wrong,

this is not a test, and not a contest.

In your design, you’re given

everything you need to thrive —

this is your life

and you its only master

Don’t worry —

that which you most deeply wish

won’t be denied, though it may seem so,

many times along the way.

Your desire is part of who you are

and its fulfillment

is in your destiny,

cut, as it is,

from the same rock,

bound, as it is,

in your same Life.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 20, 2017

Tending Fire

As taught by tending fire,

having words for these things

doesn’t mean I know them

The fire teaches me

to pay attention,

the rules that I’m applying

don’t need more refining

so much as faithfully adhering

So in fire tending

I go wordless,

letting the flames do the talking,

letting them draw

their foreordained conclusion.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 19, 2017

Encircled

Resolution separates colors

from a bland plane,

definition of moments

makes them sparkle,

throwing my whole self

into the dance of now

creates a fence against

the creep of scatter

We are negentropic, after all —

It’s not a losing fight against

a tide of tiredness —

these circles I draw around everything,

to define, to know, to celebrate

bring brightness

as each entity emerges —

each appreciated, each empowered,

each collecting light

within its sacred orb.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 18, 2017