Send my roots down

Send my roots down

where they’ve never reached before —

the land is arid,

the former streams are dry

Send my roots down

to the hidden corridors

protecting the secret,

connecting the trees

Let the ancient, strong alliance,

feeding everything that touches in,

be what sustains me,

be what grows my trunk 

and greens my limbs

Send my roots down —

it’s a long drought on the surface,

but here underneath,

we’ll share the streams.

©Wendy Mulhern

July 29, 2018

Winter on the Land

We learn the worth of warmth —

its animal presence offered as free gift,

exchanged in the close steam of breath,

the animal scent part of the intimacy

We value the small suffusing

of heat from the low sun

pushing through the winter’s chill

(thawing paused for the task of

creating fog, moisture released from frost

drifting between trees)

The last glow offered

before the return to frigid

speaks of winter’s charm,

the color and stillness we can enjoy

when we are warm enough.

©Wendy Mulhern

December 12, 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

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

Winter for the Seeds

The little seeds are nestled

in a sphere of fluff

which can be pulled apart.

The fluff, though soft,

begins to burr into my fingers

as I rub the seeds free

The posts say I need to 

make winter for the seeds,

need to keep them cold and damp

until they calculate

winter is done — now, if it gets warm

it’s safe to sprout

They describe it in terms of hormones

but I tuck the seeds in, I talk to them.

Who am I to say what kind of wisdom

has not been passed down,

mother to many future children,

grand dappled limbs

coursing the message of life,

roots to crown, earth to atmosphere,

the record of many winters

to inform this one that will now come for the seeds,

packed and labeled in my refrigerator.

©Wendy Mulhern

December 14, 2016

photo by Edward Mulhern

Gathering

We will gather seeds,

we will gather scions,

we will gather the miracle

of ripples on the river,

the intersection of ducks

with all that physics,

light’s answer to the waves’ summons

We will be fed

by what we love

all through the winter —

the love will always be

what nourishes us,

however it’s presented

And we will feed others,

sometimes before we know it —

we will feed them

with our love.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 10, 2016

Good Use

No need to be nostalgic for my past,

however lovely photos say it was.

My life is ever here, in the placing

of feet on wet grass, in clouds sifting

between the trees, in the smell of sun

after the morning rain

My life is here, in sitting together

cutting and peeling apples,

joining in a task without asking

or being asked, just because

our hands know what to do

My life is here

in waiting out storms,

in holding the peace, in offering calm,

in giving clear direction as I see it.

I’m learning to put myself to good use

in the small and steady way

of every living thing,

essential member in the web

we weave together,

the web we all need,

that needs us all.

©Wendy Mulhern

October 2, 2016

Need

Look up —

Right here where you are,

exactly what you need

is at hand. Each moment is packed

with more richness 

than you could have imagined,

each person equipped

with what will fill you

with the heart-full rush of sustenance

However barren the landscape may look,

however threadbare your prospects,

however empty you may feel your interactions are,

what you need is ever always here

Look again —

The power of your love

will open all the secrets,

and the bounty that is waiting for release

will tumble out for you in grateful eagerness

to be the priceless thing that meets your need.

©Wendy Mulhern

September 3, 2016

Lesson for Today

With infinite patience

the land teaches us. The lessons

flow in slowly, altering our attitude,

our posture, changing us

from the inside out, letting us realize

the magnitude of what it demands,

but also the way we can meet the need,

the way to proceed

at the speed of seasons

where everything has time to harmonize,

at the speed of fog rising

and clearing,

of dew forming

and drying,

at the speed of frogs and crickets,

blackbirds and ravens,

grass and fern and fir tree

all breathing together,

at the speed of knowing right now,

of being and doing

what is needed.

©Wendy Mulhern

August 31, 2016

Going Forward

Up till now, our progress has felt

like water cresting —

surging and halting, rolling over itself,

seeming not to move

and threatening to flood

at the same time

Today we begin to see

the unfolding of it,

step by step —

all these will happen 

but not all at once —

We will be ready

for everything as it comes,

our work —

to match our pace

with our breathing,

one breath at a time,

no more, no less,

riding the wave till it’s done.

©Wendy Mulhern

March 18, 2016