This entry was posted on Dec 31, 2014 by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg.
Precious Rest
Yoga Poetry
Not Rare But Precious
Think of what’s not rare but precious.
~ Ruth Gendler
The gift of light. Of dark.
The squeaky swing set
that’s really a blue jay
searching for love and gravity.
What tells you to lie down.
Why standing back up
each morning is precious
as breath or clouds splintering
into rain dissolving the drought.
The horizontal day that turns
into the vertical night,
the stubble on the path
between the furrows of labor,
hope, and need. Any curve
wheeling toward the horizon,
all the dreams of finding
your house has extra rooms,
the ease of a broken love
suddenly making sense,
the return of a lost locket
from childhood, and in it,
your grandfather’s face.
Waking this afternoon to
thunder, the smell of rain.
About Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg is the Poet Laureate of Kansas, and the author of 14 books, including a forthcoming novel,
The Divorce Girl; The Sky Begins At Your Feet: A Memoir on Cancer, Community & Coming Home to the Body (
Ice Cube Books); and four collections of poetry. Founder of Transformative Language Arts – a master's program in social and personal transformation through the written, spoken and sung word at Goddard College (
Goddard College); where she teaches, Mirriam-Goldberg also leads writing workshops widely. With singer Kelley Hunt, she co-writes songs, offers collaborative performances, and leads writing and singing Brave Voice retreats (
www.BraveVoice.com); and she blogs regularly at her website (
www.CarynMirriamGoldberg.wordpress.com)
Thanks for sharing this inspiring poem, Caryn! It’s really important to appreciate the things around us and what makes them special. They may be ordinary but days are better because of them!
Thanks so much for your words, Amelia. Obviously, I very much agree!