Reality spins
into imagination
awakening dreams
long forgotten.
Reality whirls
through intimations
of what seems
downtrodden
Reality curls
into foundations
revealing themes
all new again.
poem- switch December 14, 2013
Best laid plans
A good surprise
Gone wrong.
An earnest effort
Hug cures
anguish
frustration
Making right
Rewind
Start again
Free rein
quote- Cassandra Clare on change October 30, 2013
“Sometimes,” Jem said, “our lives can change so fast that the change outpaces our minds and hearts. It’s those time, I think, when our lives have altered but we still long for the time before everything was altered–that is when we feel the greatest pain. I can tell you, though, from experience, you grow accustomed to it. You learn to live your new life, and you can’t imagine, or even really remember, how things were before.” (Clockwork Angel, p. 308)
I remember sitting in the hospital chapel on Easter Sunday just after the birth of my daughter. I sat there, with tears streaming down my face, just absorbing all the change. My life would never be the same again. It wasn’t. I left the hospital and embarked upon a completely different adventure.
What time in your life were you suddenly engulfed and overwhelmed by change?
poem-Twenty thousand October 19, 2013
Twenty thousand voices cheer
in celebration of lives changed
in celebration of possibility
in celebration of a future
created by
Twenty thousand young
philanthropists
poem- what now? September 10, 2013
“and so,” you said, “that’s it.”
You turned off the light
and closed the door.
I blinked in darkness
waiting
because
“it”
was not really
“that.”
poem- mountain climbing August 29, 2013
I thought I was at the base of the mountain, ready to start climbing,
but I realise that I am actually
at Mountain Equipment Co-op
looking for supplies.
I have to be on the mountain
ready or not
and I need ropes,
and crampons,
and carabiners.
I need to know how to climb.
I want to climb
I want to see the view from the heights
know I’ve conquered my fears
risen above
fought a good fight.
So I am heading to
the base camp, looking up,
and starting the climb,
armed with attitude
perseverance,
hope,
faith,
and desire.
I will climb this mountain
step
by
step.
poem- it couldn’t be August 1, 2013
No
Why imagine that?
You can’t do that!
That’s not for the likes of you.
No
That’s all they ever said.
I had to stay in this rut
and be what they had settled for
But
my wishes had wings
My dreams dredged deeper
and where I am
is a place of possibility
too great for them to see
Michaelangelo could look
into a rock and see the face of angels
like me
ancient history June 10, 2013
Always
wasn’t as long as I expected.
Forever
didn’t outlast the decades.
You’re
The Colliseum,
The pyramid at Giza,
The hanging gardens of Babylonia.
You may fool the Trojans
with that horse
but you no longer
fool me.
You’re Pompeii:
buried,
a frozen moment.
I am not
an archeologist
any more.
the value of poetry May 29, 2013
The Famous Poet
said we should
only
write poetry
to bring about
Change in the World.
I think
poetry should
capture moments
weave magic
record visions,
because poetry
should reflect
change in us.
common denominator April 9, 2013
I am
the common denominator
in my life.
If trouble comes
time
after time
after time,
relationship
after relationship
after relationship,
What each event
has in common
is me.
.
In Grace Awakening Power, Bright tells Grace that she is the common denominator to the problems. It’s not that it’s Grace’s fault that bad things happen to her, but they aren’t happening to other people, they’re happening to her, and it’s something in her that brings the trouble.
I’ve been thinking about this one a lot lately and wondering how to change the factors that result in the common denominator of my experience. How about you? Can you see how changing one or two things could change your experiences in a profound way?
PS. If find it very interesting that when centred, this poem took the shape of a punching bag. You punch these bags, and they whip right back at you. It seems full of profound symbolism. How do you interpret it?
Shawn L. Bird 