Adrienne introduced today's Mindfulness with the Support of Sound practice with a Longfellow poem:
The Sound of the Sea
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The sea awoke at midnight from its sleep,
And round the pebbly beaches far and wide
I heard the first wave of the rising tide
Rush onward with uninterrupted sweep;
A voice out of the silence of the deep,
A sound mysteriously multiplied
As of a cataract from the mountain's side,
Or roar of winds upon a wooded steep.
So comes to us at times, from the unknown
And inaccessible solitudes of being,
The rushing of the sea-tides of the soul;
And inspirations, that we deem our own,
Are some divine foreshadowing and foreseeing
Of things beyond our reason or control.
Bev followed with the writing prompt
long live the weeds and the wilderness yet
from this inimitable poem:
Inversnaid
by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1881)
This darksome burn, horseback brown,
His rollrock highroad roaring down,
In coop and in comb the fleece of his foam
Flutes and low to the lake falls home.
A windpuff-bonnet of fáwn-fróth
Turns and twindles over the broth
Of a pool so pitchblack, féll-frówning,
It rounds and rounds despair to drowning.
Degged with dew, dappled with dew
Are the groins of the braes that the brook treads through,
Wiry heathpacks, flitches of fern,
And the beadbonny ash that sits over the burn.
What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.
The last of our three top-up sessions finished wiht resounding resolve to keep writing, begin a new project call "taking off the brakes" and to pronounce wilderness with a "wild" beginning from this day forth thanks to Michele. How wonderful
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And now for some of
YOUR WRITING:
When the Time Comes
by Hilaire
Bury me beneath the magnolia tree
where crocuses bloom,
where we lay drunk on love
that first dizzying summer
gazing up into its bowery branches.
As winter ends
my name will emerge
as the crocuses bloom,
fade as they wither.
When you need to be held
lay your left hand on the trunk
of the magnolia tree,
your right hand on a strong branch,
then haul yourself into her embrace.
Prompt: “Degged with dew, dappled with dew”
by Candyce Reynolds
Falling in, Falling out
Depth or Expansion
Is it the same?
Is it different?
As with all things,
It depends
Which way are you facing?
What stands below you?
The edge
Is an edge either way
A razor,
A log
Sturdy or sleight
One’s balance flounders or flourishes
The edge is
Degged with dew, dappled with dew
Is there a choice?
Fall in or fall out
Depth or Expansion
Teetering, rocking—willing it right
A moment of momentum
Deciding for you or Coming from you?
Mushroom-dark broth
by Kath Higgens
Mushroom-dark broth
broils and whirls
in the pan of his mind,
heat ratchets up
fuming and hissing,
feverish foam seethes
and runs over,
reeking, brown-speckled –
the spoon swirls it
round and round
despair to drowning.
A home for us
by Britt Doughty-Godchaux
To the lake falls
home,
low house dark.
Night creatures flute.
Lights in silence
call out.
My heart knows
wandering.
My heart yearns
warmth.
Companions,
kindreds,
goat-like kids:
I have faith in us.
Far away,
together yet
for an imagined
home
in safety
still.
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet
by YY
As we seek perfection in an imperfect world,
Destroying the beauty of wildflower to bring in the order we think we must have
We ignore the absolute beauty of chaos
The joy of the wild
The wonder of surprise to delight the eye, with yellows and purples and greens all so bright
I embrace the stunning wilderness of nature, the path of flowers and trees, taking me with it ….as we grow to the light .
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Thanks to you all ...
... for your heartening feedback as always!
Kay: thankyou Adrienne beautiful meditation great start to the day and to the weekend and your bowl is sounding lovely
Adrienne: thanks Kay
Joyce: that is amazing Kath very powerfulx
Sheila: My charger is acting up so I might disappear without warning
Giovanna: Hoping you stay with us Sheila!
Giovanna://stanzapoetry.org/festival/poets-artists/bramwell
Hilaire: Such an uplifting session - thanks everyone!
Giovanna: Thanks to everyone, that was just wonderful
Kay: just wonderful have absolutely loved these sessions thankyou bev and Adrienne and all you wonderful women kx
Candyce: Loved all your work. Thanks for sharing!
Lesley: Thank you everyone. loved being in your company and hearing your fabulous words. x
Michele: Thank you so much Adrienne and Bev for such wonderful sessions.
Catrice: Thank you to everyone! Adrienne and Bev these are such wonderful, centering sessions. Thank you for this moment if togetherness and peace.
Sheila: Thanks Bev Adrienne and everyone
Sandra: Thank you everyone- I have to go xx
Joyce: so grateful to Adrienne and bev - and to all of you - what joy to share this space with you all xxx
Kath: Thanks to everyone
Hilaire: Thanks so much Bev & Adrienne & everyone for your inspiring contributions xx
Yvonne: Amazing morning , thank you all so very much…love xxx
Louise: fabulous inspiring beautiful thank you thank you Adrienne Bev and the words of all