The Only Reasonable Light

image by Melinda, “Shekinah”

Oh, there is so much pain in this peopled world, and I dare say the majority of it is delivered to humans by other humans. I don’t pretend any circumstances will change if I add my own thin voice to the rising chorus of anguish. Images flash on a loop and breaking news headlines slap our eyes through the assorted screens that reside in our homes and accompany many of us day and (often) night.

Here’s what I do know. The qualities I nourish in my heart and head fuel my interactions with all living beings.  I’ve been the fortunate beneficiary of love in many of its guises. I’ve been gifted thousands of kindnesses, and each one mattered. Sometimes a single sentence has kept me clear of the quicksand of despair and hopelessness.

To look each other in the eyes, to see there a reflection of ourselves and the Source that created us— this is our individual superpower. I believe we are here to minister to each other. And there are so many, many ways to do that.

Maestra

Asleep I must have been,
or dream-walking
through my sovereign hours,
feet solid on the crunchy winter frosting
spread across the cake-like ground.

It was a whispering, an infant wind.
It was a hum like an insect army,

and if I hadn’t been so sure I was sleeping
I might’ve questioned this winged storm
audible yet invisible,
so out of place in New England January.

Hey
the sound seemed to say
Hey
You are in charge, you know.

 Not of the sky, or your neighbor’s grief.
Not of poverty or greed
or the way the icecaps are openly weeping.
Not all that.

 And when my ears—
or some other translators that surface
when the moon is the only reasonable light—

opened wider still, the whistling
whispering humming voice

crawled right inside
and made straight for my soul,
which is always listening,
and the voice said

You are the artist, the architect, the sculptor.
You are gardener, mother, muse and
maestra of your heart and hands  

 and lest you think this
has small meaning,
I’m blustering in
to shake you hard
and tell you
it is everything.

-Melinda