The Morning’s Gold

We were there to harvest

the gold of the day,

exhilaration

when sun has overcome

the last night’s rain

Damp leaves quivered

with surface evaporation,

breath-catch of being here,

the moment’s radiant warmth

Later the clouds came across

and maybe there was more rain

(later we were inside, where noticing

is not strictly required).

In memory, and in the camera’s capture,

the morning’s gold will stay.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 24, 2018

Thought for the day

And the vision was flying beside me

like the flock of birds suddenly

at my shoulder, as we walked

near the shore

It touched on

layers of worlds

and how a shift in focus

can operate on each one —

the world of sound,

the world of light in a father’s eyes,

the nexuses of casual intersection

And it said:

All your longings will flow out

of all containers where you try to hold them,

they will turn from light to lead along the street,

but the brightness you desire

is yours, now and always —

it sits, in willing ease,

upon your brow.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 23, 2018

Taming

Even the greatest demons,

fearsome and raging

as they rip and howl

through the chasms

of your abandoned hopes

Even the slamming 

trap door of shame

with its dark echo

of clanging isolation

Just like everything that drags along

the shadowed garb of sorrow.

these, too, will be disarmed and tamed

Their sad disguises

will be laid aside,

their secret heart

will be exposed

and they’ll be wrapped

with tender expert hands

so they have no more need

to haunt your home.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 22, 2018

After, after all

There is, in our connection, wonder.

Afterwards, when hollow longing

dogs our door,

let us remember:

All the light we forged

still glows within,

and the spark that made it

never lacks the fuel

to start a warming blaze

and to sustain the joy and purpose

that charmed us so, before —

There’s no cold aftermath

to anything that’s meaningful.

We live, after all, in the adventure —

we live the bright unfolding dance of life.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 21, 2018

And Yet

You can’t put weight on what’s falling,

can’t stomp your foot, can’t hope

to knock the bottom out and so fall through —

there’s no salvation in destruction

however much you’re longing

for some easier way to get out

And yet …

And yet …

Every honest step, every searching step,

every anguished and exhausted step,

regardless of directionality

will take you closer

to the amnesty you seek

We live in the field of absolute value

where you can’t take a negative step —

what’s upside down will be inverted,

what’s right side up will be purified

Don’t worry —

this is not dependent

on your will and prowess,

this is Truth

unfolding effortless in grace.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 20, 2018 

Pool

I will not be tired or sad or scared,

I will notice

what your face is doing.

I won’t try to deconstruct your mood

but I will be here

watching for your light

If I can be a pool

to give reflection

and maybe some refreshment,

I will be there —

if you venture near

then maybe you will find me

And if not,

wind may still ruffle

the light across my waters,

trees may still rustle

above the quiet shore,

your life still follow

the course that has been charted

and I’ll still hold you

gently in my heart.

©Wendy Mulhern

November 19, 2018

Incomparable

The infinite will not compare you

to anyone. The infinite has room

to see you infinite, has room for everyone

to be one of a kind,

in their perfectly appointed place

You in particular

(not to stint the same for every entity)

celebrated in the amazing way

you are what is needed,

(a role that opens out for each of us,

each of us holy,

each of us resplendent where we are.)

©Wendy Mulhern

November 18, 2018