Poetry

All at once

I feel it all
sometimes all at once
the unbridled gladness
and happy messes
the uncontainable sorrow
and burdens of loss
the magnificence of life
abounding and the confounding
weight of so much pain
and anguish and sorrow

the strife in a loved one’s
tears and the persistence
of a dear one’s fears
even the suffering of strangers
can find its way into my heart
erasing the lines of separation
that would tear us apart

all the while joy too
can jolt me into an up-swirl
of pleasure and memories
to treasure and tuck away
for a rainy day

this ebb and flow of hope
and despair and the burden
of caring too much
or not doing enough
all of it part and parcel
of my everyday emotional
terrain too difficult to contain
or explain or navigate with grace

this demanding and relentless pace
of so many ups and downs
simultaneously and in such close
proximity that I wonder
can I…how can I
invite delight to arise
and abide with sorrow

perhaps we are blessed
by all that is paradoxical
insisting that we stay
present to the ALL of it
the inevitable surges
and purges urging us
to stay awake and
allow the full complexity of these
notes of grief and gratitude
to become the song that is ours
to offer to the world

from the heart, mind, and pen of Minx

©2023Minx Boren. All rights reserved. PLEASE SHARE with attribution.

today is a good day

today is a good day
to share
an honest smile
a piece of bread
a gentle gesture of love
today is a good day
to remember
a favorite friend
a sweet celebration
a precious moment
today is a good day
to acknowledge
a job well done
words well spoken
a gift well chosen
today is a good day
to notice
the splendor of a moonrise
or a sunset perhaps
the majesty of a mountain
the fragrance of a flower
today is a good day
to be grateful
for all that is precious
and sweet and splendid
and well done
today is a good day

Like a Just Hatched Bird

mouth open to the sky
in a soulful cry
for nourishment
there is in me
a hunger so deep
that I stretch
my whole self upwards
neck craned
in anticipation
open to receive
waiting…trusting…hoping
my need will be met
without knowing why
or how

Things Happen Life Happens

things happen
life happens
while we plan
and plod
while we dig
and dream
while we caress
and create
the forces of life
push and pull
at our efforts
thoughts
yours and mine
and actions
mine and yours
scatter seeds
hither or yon
some take root
others are destroyed
or decompose
becoming fertile ground
for what next
things happen
life happens
and
ours is not to reason
or rail about why
all that really matters
is simply this –
how we respond
to happenstance
and how we hold each other
along the way

Unraveling or Unfolding

reluctant am I
to awaken abruptly
while hues of darkness
still paint the sky
while dreams play
hide and seek
in the spaciousness
between my sleep world
and wake fullness
while the soft cocoon
of my warm bed
envelops me
while the firm cradle
of my true love’s arms
holds me safe
the stillness feels
all too precious
to disturb disrespectfully
lingering sweetly
in my blanket
of nocturnal sanctuary
I whisper my prayers
of gratitude
then ever so slowly
like a lazy lioness
stretch and unfold myself
into the waiting day
it has taken
a lifetime to learn
to abandon the unraveling
perpetrated
by the harsh intrusion
of my alarm sounding
and trust instead
my deep Self to hear
the soft invitation
of morning
greeting me by name

Do Not Answer Too Soon

shhhhhh
stop & wait & wonder
& do not answer
too soon
rest a while
in the question
whatever it may be
can you resist
the need for surety
the comfort of decisiveness
can you just keep pondering
long enough
to allow the miracles of possibility
to flutter around you
like butterflies
delighting your mind’s eye
consider that certainty
may not be all
it is cracked up to be
would you rather view life
through an open window
or a closed door
better still
step outside
the box of shoulds and cannots
is too confining
for your exuberantly creative spirit
to roam around in
if you want to hear spirit speak
if you want to let soul sing
spend time in the spaciousness
between your thoughts
and wander under, over, and around
your hard-earned knowledge
only there can you discover
the soft underbelly
of your inklings and knowings

Questions That Matter

Am I bold enough?
Are there ways I am living
too small?
There are definitions and containers
I could cram myself into
But would they leave me space
to breathe?
Am I watchful enough?
There is much in life
that can diminish me
if I am not vigilant.
How have I succumbed to
noxious streams of sentimental
nonsense that have clouded
my vision and hidden my hope?
Am I courageous enough?
There is so much worthy
of my love
and my time and my tenacity.
When have I stepped valiantly
into life’s arena to confront
the bullish nay sayers?
Am I resilient enough?
Perfection is insidious
and potential too precious
to worry over or waste.
Where have I been an architect
of something grand
and graceful and good?
Am I enough?
Am I living my dream of myself?
And where and when and how
have I lived at the edges of possibility serving the magnificent dream
of the wholeness
of the world?

Now Is What Matters

don’t unwrap that old story
the dust has settled finally
so why stir up all those bedraggled
bygones and worn-out resentments
notice instead that new seed
of a dream taking hold
inkling by inkling
in the soft light of today’s dawn
and for goodness sake
don’t squint too hard trying
to make out all the details
and detours that may arise
along the unpredictable way
don’t let fear interfere
with the mystery of how
or why things take root
and flourish in their own good time
and at their own perfect pace
bending toward the light of inspiration
and gravitating toward the realm of the infinite
surrender instead to serendipity
as you allow what you don’t even know
you don’t know to emerge and flower