Petals leave...

two champagne flutes,

tokens from the bride,

rose petals sprinkled inside

a charm on a ring around the base

name card with rose to mark the place

sat on a shelf 

from Valentines Day

for seventeen sweet months

but the petals faded

the glasses clouded

our love became obscure

time now to scatter the petals

to lay that love to rest

i pour from the flute

then again from the other

into my cupped left hand

i step over the threshold

into the garden

the scene of so many projects

and i tip my hand

watch leaf follow leaf

some float, some fall,

all leave.

so fine

I cannot fathom how you manage to dig so deep

and come up with jewels

which you offer so freely

when you would be forgiven

for grabbing fistfuls

of mud

I look at the trenches you have had to dig

simply to survive

and i gasp for air

get dizzy with vertigo

just looking

The slender thread that is,

the silken tightrope that floats

the surface of a raindrop that reflects -

all these and more cannot come close

to the fragility and yet the resilience of love

that you show me over and over

you open yourself wide

invite me to share the shelter

that you dug with bare hands

until your finger nails came away

until the sweat threatened to flood the earth

and

i

hesitate

i

fear

to tread

where

angels

rest

i

am

not

worthy

and

yet

i

hear

whispered

liltingly

in

my

ear

those

old, incense-infused

Roman words

i

am

not

worthy

to

receive

you

but

only

say

the

word

and

i

shall

be

healed.

and

i

listen

and

i

hear

and

i

begin

to

understand

                to follow

                one

                another

                is

                to

                follow

                the Christ

i step in

and bathe

in

the

warm

mesmerising

pool

that

is

the blending

of

our

souls.

borrowed not blue - found at last

[click on the image to see a larger version so that you can read the words more easily]

I wrote this poem in response to my sister's wedding on Valentine's Day 2009. I have just found it in a notebook while packing for my imminent house-move. The floral background is a collage of images i have photographed this August.

Wild Things

Flowers in the Bield Walled Garden

Wild and wanton flower heads

root and stem give forth

bees hum inebriated tunes

hoverflies stumble dazed and drowsy

the nectar has fermented,

its scent is heady,

petals flirtatious.

Made for myself last year at the Bield, shared now for Alison from my soul

drawn by the pattern - walking with God...

 walk the labyrinth with every part of your being and you will discover the question you had not dared ask.  Then walk the labyrinth with that question plus an open heart and you will learn how to live into the answer.

 Say No! to that which crowds out God.  

Say Yes! to that which makes space for God to come in.

i must walk my own path and share the journey with those whose paths crosses mine...

I need simply and only to wait upon God

without expectation and God, all longing, resting in me, 

will breathe in me the music of my soul.  

Edwina Gateley.