Thursday, February 3, 2022

where is my heart


On the first Thursday of each month, I write as part of a community of writers exploring spirituality - and you are invited to read what everyone else is writing, too. (Thank you, Denise Krebs, for connecting me with this writing circle.) Linda Mitchell is our February host and she poses the thought-provoking question -

Where is your heart in your journey these days?  


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In her memoir Poet Warrior, Joy Harjo includes the poem "Silêncio Geuerreiro" by Márcia Wayna Kambeba, with these two (English translation) lines:

You must grow quiet
To hear with the heart


I read these two lines for the first time (and many times since, over and over) just this week, and I am struck by the synchronicity of reading/finding these precious words with the prompt by Linda today. They are worth repeating -


You must grow quiet
To hear with the heart


Aren't they beautiful, insightful, wise? 

I think - I hear - how important it is to be in community with others, to be quiet with myself, to listen deeply, to put my needs, my wants, myself aside, and listen, 

to hear with my heart.



Where is my heart in my journey these days? To think of my heart is to think of love in its many meanings and paths. The two are inseparable - heart and love. With this in mind, a poem came to heart:


two years now


two years now
and longer 

my heart
overflowing and full

my goodness, we talked for over an hour 
phone calls with family and friends afar love
trail-running nutritious-cooking healthier love
merry tumbling Skidamarink grandchildren love
rubbing-lotion-on-my-back tender marriage love
dig-in-dirt listen-to-bird smell-the-air mother nature love
pen paint poetry journal writing thought-making love

two years now
and longer 

my heart
overflowing and full

breaking aching sad
spiraling pandemic pain fear mistrust unrest death 
family neighbors city nation world
never-ending atrocities, numbingly nonexistent nadir
mourning grieving hoping praying

two years now
and longer 

my heart
overflowing and full

holding at once
blessed bounteous joy
abiding agonizing hurt
taking care
seeking light

two years now
and longer 



12 comments:

  1. Oh, Maureen, there's so much to love in your post. The quote you shared, your phrase "a poem came to heart", and your poem are going into my writer's notebook.
    Thanks for these eloquent words about your heart and the reminder to always be seeking light:

    "...holding at once
    blessed bounteous joy
    abiding agonizing hurt
    taking care
    seeking light..."

    Your words are a blessing today.

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  2. Thank you, Ramona; such a wonderful compliment, for you to include my writing in your writer's notebook. Truly appreciate!

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  3. What beauty here. That kind of quiet is what I'd love a big slice of. I wish I could buy some. Alas, it is something to be found and savored. The repetition of "two years now and longer" ring true, true, true. It's precious time and yet it's time that's not without pain. Thank you for sharing your heart in your beautiful poem. I grab onto the line, "seeking light..."

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  4. I agree with you, such quiet is to be found and savored - we need to dare to pause. Thank you for your kind words!

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  5. Maureen, I relate to your lovely poem very deeply. Thank you for putting into words many feelings that need acknowledgment. I join you in praying for the light to shine, for joy and truth to lead us into a new day. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Thank you for this! Yes, yes, we need to seek light!

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  7. Maureen, this line is such a gem: "To think of my heart is to think of love in its many meanings and paths." Being quiet to hear with one's own heart is something we all need to do so much more (perhaps a big reason why we write). Such peace flows from your words today, and throughout your heart-poem like a pulse. This has been a place of meditation for me this morning - thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Fran, for these comments. I am pleased that you found my writing to be both peaceful and meditative.

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  8. The repetition in your post and poem is affective. Listen to your heart and you listen with love. Two years...Gathering your thoughts into this poem is a keeper. How will we remember this time?

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  9. Two years of thought, action, leaning into love - all shared within the heart for heart matters, as does love. Maureen, with joyful words you let us follow your spiritual journey. Thanks for reiterating the lines: "You must grow quiet/To hear with the heart. Journey on with heart thisweek.

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