Arctic Chill

Days like this

bring out the memory

of hibernation. We take naps

on the couch, we wake up

to mammalian smells

and dark that fell

while we were sleeping

Our brief trips outside

have sweetened the warmth

of our dwelling,

the fire speaks to us

in familiar tongues.

©Wendy Mulhern

January 31, 2019

Sparkle

Within the sparkle of your being,

between the separate sparkles,

I thought for a moment

I could enter. Could feel the crackle

of electric movement, effervescence

of the spaces in between —

Could step beyond boundaries

to where we occupy

the same space. A way to light up,

a way to receive.

©Wendy Mulhern

January 30, 2019

Investment

You brought the fresh wind in with you,

you brought exhilaration,

the momentum of swift striding

and moments of being at your best

I took the time to share with you

some of that breathing,

some of that joy at just-right-ness.

It’s worth a lot — 
an investment, no doubt,

sure to enrich.

©Wendy Mulhern

January 28, 2019

The Glow of Presence

As soon as I pull myself

out of the fray

and give myself enough time

for things to settle,

the glow of presence

makes itself known,

fresh and still as morning

Called to account for it

I’m rendered silent

but the lift that cleaves to soaring wings

attests to the same presence

that bears me ever up.

©Wendy Mulhern

January 27, 2019

Falling asleep while trying to write a poem

A world made

of everything that happened,

an armature of sighs,

something seen the moment

before I opened my eyes,

not enough time

to make any difference

There may be hope

in the very slightest of things,

the gossamer of insect wings,

the care that has been taken

at every scale where things can be perceived —

we may not understand

but this may help us to believe.

©Wendy Mulhern

January 26, 2019

No Matter What

In the end we will find

we have not been betrayed

by our choices. We won’t come to wish

we had known better

and done something else,

even when vast scenarios

play themselves out — if only …

Our coming into ourselves

is not a matter of chance, 

of choice, any more than is

the river’s course

or the return of waves

back along their cycle at the shore

We’ll meet again — I’m certain —

We’ll celebrate the beauty of our lives,

the tender light we each shed

on the world and on each other

in every place where we were meant to shine,

undimmed by how we dipped our threads  through time.

©Wendy Mulhern

January 24, 2019

The Realm of Spirit

In the realm of Spirit

there is no rationing —

You will rise like morning

drenched in joy,

you will drink freely

and light will flow liquid

across the whole page

of your day.

©Wendy Mulhern

January 23, 2019