When the cacophony of news blares deafening dreadful,
‘tis time to still one’s feet, one’s hands, one’s mind.
Seek the beautiful, but for a moment.
Listen to stillness and you will hear the quiet.
Contemplate the beside you ~
the chair upon which you sit
the cold-hot water you may choose to drink, to draw
the texture of cloth which warms your skin
the view through glass panes that alternates,
day to night to day again
the love you carry within your heart,
from those who have held your hands.
Inhale. Exhale. Breathe.
Then slowly rise and move deliberately,
into the good.
It’s Tuesday and that means Poetics at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets. Paul is hosting and tells us about a book, Anam Cara, by Irish poet/philosopher John O’Donahue, which includes a number of “Blessings” poems. Paul asks us to write a blessing, adding “and may our words create ripples in the pond of the world.” Pub opens at 3 PM Boston time. Come soar with us! Photo taken a number of years ago on our Baltic cruise.
We need these poems desperately! I can’t wait to read everyones tonight. Great poem! Loved the whole thing and there was one word in particular that had a big impact for me- “Deliberately.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I loved the idea of this prompt and I so agree….we need these reminders of the blessings among us! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Lillian for this wonderful blessing. Move deliberately indeed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOVED this prompt, Paul. Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Brava.. 🌹🌹🌹😎
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
Listen to the stillness and you will hear the quiet… what a wonderful statement. I would love to find a spot like that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do believe these spots are all around us if we but look, and sit. 🙂
LikeLike
A beautiful blessing!
LikeLike
Thank you!
LikeLike
Oh, this is gorgeous. I love the final stanza. I’d quite like to have this on a postcard, pinned in my office at work, to remind me that sometimes I need to just sit and be.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes indeed. Sometimes it is the way to feel a peace inside ourselves. Tlad you enjoyed, Sarah.
LikeLike
A beautiful prayer ~ I love this part:
Seek the beautiful, but for a moment.
Listen to stillness and you will hear the quiet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Grace. I so enjoyed this prompt! Paul graced us with a beauty for our last poetics til we return from summer break.
LikeLike
listening to silence – a gift for sure!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly! 🙂
LikeLike
The photo is a beautiful illustration for your blessing poem, Lillian. My favourite lines:
‘Seek the beautiful, but for a moment.
Listen to stillness and you will hear the quiet.’
and
‘Then slowly rise and move deliberately,
into the good’.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Kim. I so enjoyed this prompt! Will be reading over the weekend as 5 grandchildren (and our children!) arrive today 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I liked the listening to the stillness and the attention to details, the breathing, and the deliberate movement into the good.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed, Frank.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A very mindful poem, listening to the stillness- very very calming. I love the photo. XX
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Alison. Yes….being mindful. A number of years ago I took some classes in meditation and was told not to “ruminate” — which means dwell in the past. Rather to live in the present. Be in the present. I think sitting and listening, even if just for a moment, is just that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A beautiful blessing to move into the good, thank you for sharing this Lillian :o) xxx
LikeLiked by 1 person
So glad you enjoyed! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love your beautiful and heartfelt blessing, Lillian. It’s much like an instructed meditation. xo
LikeLiked by 1 person
Funny you should say that, about the meditation. I took some lessons in meditation some years ago. The point was not to ruminate — dwell in the past. But through guided meditation, live in the present…”be” at the very moment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly what I needed. Just lovely!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Goes with “mama zen!” Glad you enjoyed 🙂
LikeLike
Bless you, dear lady, for you mounted the positive side of the prompt–and your own positive spin projected out to each of us. I often write as a dystopian outlaw of the sensorium–exploring the darker side of good intentions.
LikeLike
Glad you enjoyed this one, Glenn. You may be a “dystopian outlaw of the sensorium – exploring the darker side of good intentions…” but you do it so WELL! 🙂
LikeLike
In our busy world, it’s difficult to “listen to the stillness”, but alas I can’t appreciate it any more for the ringing in my ears! Your blessing is so beautifully penned, Lillian. Kudos to you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes I do try to find a silent quiet place….if even for a moment with lights turned out and curtains drawn. We also have some “green space” outside our highrise here in the city, and I enjoy sitting on a bench with my eyes closed. City sounds are there….but in the listening I can hear the birds and the trees rustle too! 🙂
LikeLike
Reading your Blessings was so soothing, I felt at peace. I think my heart beat slower after reading. You touched heart and soul. Such a marvelous statement: “Then slowly rise and move deliberately, into the good” – deliberately is critical here. But first, as you pointed out, we must Breathe. Thank you for stilling my life and moving me “into the good”. 🙂 Hugs from IA
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Adda. Your words are making me smile here. This was a special prompt and truly the way I feel. 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, “seek the beautiful” and “listen to the stillness”…it would do us all good 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love that list, those things that we, as poets, are drawn to take in. Such a gift for your reader to draw us in, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Victoria. I loved the prompt and this is exactly what I believe. 🙂
LikeLike
the blessings of the ordinary, just lovely Lillian and timely, these are the greatest blessings of all, everyone you mentioned is such a big gift to us all. your words reminds me of Grace Crowell’s I have found joy in simple things.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes I truly believe we need to revert to simplicity…minimalism…..to understand and be thankful for every day. 🙂 So glad you enjoyed this one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for writing this one – need to hear it often!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes indeed. Glad you enjoyed, Jilly!
LikeLike
Looking for peace within.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly. Sometimes we just need to put down the newspaper, unplug, and just BE.
LikeLike
ah…such a liberating read!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes, to sit still is exactly what we need, right? Put down the newspaper, unplug, and just BE. 🙂
LikeLike
What is needed today amidst the fray….breathing is the best exercise! Nice one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Kathy. So glad you enjoyed. 🙂
LikeLike
Oh that very difficult “deliberately”!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes indeed. And that is the directive to serenity, right?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful idea, I try to do it every morning. If I don’t have time for the beautiful, I save the news for another time. Otherwise it’s like drinking poison without taking the antidote first. I may just skip the poison altogether and just do the reflection. there, all better already. Thanks, that’s better
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful reply! Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
… “into the good”. Brilliant. It just summarises to the entire piece perfectly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So glad you enjoyed. Some days, I admit, it’s harder to find the good. We just need to keep looking! 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
A wish for the whole world 🙂
LikeLike
Amen to that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is wonderful! I like “contemplate the beside you” and “move deliberately into the good.” Well done!
LikeLiked by 1 person
So glad you enjoyed! I do think it’s important these days, to remember, there is good!
LikeLike
A beautiful blessing, Lillian. I especially love the “inhale. exhale. breathe” line.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is lovely. I should try to do this rather than let “news” punch me the way it does. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen to that!
LikeLike
this is a lovely reminder of all our blessings!
stacy
http://www.warningthestars.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen to that!
LikeLike
Beautiful. It’s lovely going through your poems again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And lovely to see you here again. So glad you enjoy my poems. I do enjoy my early morning coffee with pen in hand. Sometimes I get very surprised at what comes out on the page!😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love this line- “the view through glass panes that alternates”
LikeLike