It’s National Poetry Month here in the U.S. and I’ve been rereading some of my favorites and thinking about how poetry is the perfect vehicle for communicating both the individual and universal at once...
It gives shape to the human experience, and can be a place for profound connection as well as a lens into other ways of seeing and being in the world.
The poet Jane Hirshfield goes as far as saying, “Poetry itself is an instrument of resilience,” and I think we could all use a little resilience these days...
So today, I’d like to share a few lines of poetry with you that speak to the conscious journey we are on together in hopes that they will provide you that sense of connection with others that many of us are sorely missing these days, as well as fuel to cultivate resilience during challenging times:
“Everything in the Universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.”
—13th Century spiritual poet, Rumi
***
“Behind Me—dips Eternity—
Before Me—Immortality—
Myself—the Term between—”
—19th Century Poet Emily Dickinson, from “Behind Me Dips Eternity”
***
“I saw myself
a ring of bone
in the clear stream
of all of it
and vowed,
always to be open to it
that all of it
might flow through”
—Beat Poet Lew Welch, from “I Saw Myself”
***
“And/to come together
in a coming togetherness
vibrating with the fires of pure knowing
reeling with power
ringing with the sound above sound above sound
to explode/in the majesty of our oneness
our comingtogether
in a comingtogetherness”
—Black Arts Movement poet Mari Evans, from “Who Can Be Born Black”
***
“Walk through this with me.
Through this church of blood, bone, and muscle, that is ours
There is a door knob glowing like chance before you.
Grab it, turn and pull, step through, back straight, chin up, eyes open, hearts loud.”
—Oregon Poet Laureate Anis Mojgani, from “Come Closer”
***
“The real & lasting practice for each of us is to remove what obstructs us so we can be who we are.”
—Spiritual Poet and New York Times Bestselling author, Mark Nepo
I hope you enjoyed these excerpts and that you’ll take a moment to find a favorite poem to share with someone, or even pen one yourself!
In Oneness,
Steve
