This poem was inspired by these prompts: about the positive side of change and about astonishment and wonder.
What she thought was the end of the world,
When she thought she was unlovable
Because she seemed unappreciated
By someone whose love she had wanted —
What she thought was rock bottom,
Was precisely the solid ground she needed
To stand at last on her own feet,
To rebuild, and find astonishment at the new life
She is leading, which she didn’t know she wanted.
For DVerse Poetics, the prompt is majesty.
The pen can hold power.
The pen can describe the world’s wonders.
The pen can inspire like a bright star.
The pen can cause people to rise
Against dynasties which had towered
As societal mountains.
Centuries of echoes are heard,
But behold the dynamite of the written word.
Today’s poem is inspired by the fact that, in the Catholic Church, today is the memorial of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. She lived from 1647 to 1690. I read this quotation from one of her letters this morning:
“This divine heart [of Christ] is an abyss of all blessings, and into it the poor should submerge all their needs. It is an abyss of joy in which all of us can immerse our sorrows. It is an abyss of lowliness to counteract our foolishness, an abyss of mercy for the wretched, an abyss of love to meet our every need.”
The quotation led to this poem.
“Abyss” is an unusual word
To use referring to what’s good;
Yet in this paradox is heard
A depth of wisdom. Ask this: “Could
The Lord allow something that seems
To be unloving to our eyes?”
Yes, out of darkness God redeems
The suffering, and can surprise
Our own hearts with what He creates.
So out of the abyss can soar
More happiness. The one who waits
With hope will see such joys outpour.
Note: Shared with Angie Trafford’s Writing Wednesday because I mentioned darkness. Also shared with DVerse OLN.
Waiting for nighttime
To reveal a companion
On this search for love
For Frank J. Tassone’s haikai prompt this week. Click here for more info. It turns out that this month’s full moon was last night, and I didn’t realize it, though I did look at the moon. I wrote the above haiku yesterday. Then, this morning, upon reading that the “Hunter’s Moon” was actually yesterday, I wrote this:
I saw you last night
My desired companion,
Sans recognition
One day we will understand
That the bends in the path,
The winding in the road,
The detours along the street
And even into wild unknown —
One day we will understand
And rest content with the path,
Surprisingly, exactly the right road,
Some say this happens in heaven’s streets.
Is it hell to remain unknown?
Fandango challenges us today to write about detours.
Leaving — red-eye flight
Reddening eyes from crying
Autumn rains — red leaves
For Frank J. Tassone’s haikai prompt about fall foliage / red leaves (momiji),
These are two quadrilles for DVerse quadrille Monday, and the word is “set.” I’m also linking to Fandango’s one-word prompt, cast.
The Play
Aspiring actors try out for the play,
The cast list is announced
The lines are slowly memorized,
And many sets are painted:
There are quirky many-dimensional
Characters, a complicated plot,
And unexpected places, as
Varied as life itself,
For “all the world’s a stage.”
The Glass Heart
Bruised and broken
(Not quite shattered)
One too many times,
She cradles like a baby
Her precious glass heart,
Sets it on a countertop
Display — but that’s not the way
Hearts need to be treated.
Not only looked at
(Not quite shattered)
But cherished.
