This poem sits over my desk; I see it everyday. But I don't always read it. Today, New Year's Day, I read it anew, with fresh eyes--and promise myself to pay attention, to pay heed, to witness, to be present, and to allow whatever is meant to happen to happen this year. May my storm unleash that which is creative, spiritual, and surprising. I'm ready.
Lilacs In September
by Katha Pollitt
Shocked to the root
like the lilac bush
in the vacant lot
by the hurricane--
whose back branch split
by wind or rain
has broken out
unseasonably
into these scant ash-
colored blossoms
lifted high
as if to say
to passersby
What will unleash
itself in you
when your storm comes?
This is inspiring and just the image I needed today. Thank you! I'm taking this to my studio...
ReplyDeletegreat poem
ReplyDeleteBeautiful . . .
ReplyDeleteWhen your storm comes, you will find the courage to bloom afresh.
ReplyDeleteWe wish you the best of our 12 Days of Writing.
http://thepenandinkblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-twelve-days-of-writing.html
Beautiful. Inspiring. Healing. Many thanks for sharing this and for helping usher in what feels like a very good year to be...
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your storm!
Emma,
ReplyDeleteI love that poem. My favorite is "Daffodils" by William Wordsworth. On my desk at work, I have a little plaque that my parents put by my bedside when I was little. It is that crazy shade of green from the 70s. It has a drawing of a frog and some tulips. It says, "Don't hurry. Don't worry. Don't forget to smell the flowers." It is so simple, but I read it every day and try to live by it.
Poems touch our lives so intensely.