This poem appeared in my life when I needed a reminder to look to one of my favorite teachers. Some spiritualities might say that the Oak is my totem or spirit tree. I just know that oaks are an important part of my life story, and they give me strength and peace.
"The Oak Tree"
A mighty wind blew night and day.
It stole the oak tree's leaves away,
Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark.
But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around.
The weary wind gave up and spoke,
"How can you still be standing, Oak?"
The oak tree said, "I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two.
Carry every leaf away,
Shake my limbs, and make me sway.
But I have roots stretched in the earth,
Growing stronger since my birth.
You'll never touch them, for you see,
They are the deepest part of me.
Until today, I wasn't sure
Of just how much I could endure.
But now I've found, with thanks to you,
I'm stronger than I ever knew."
- Anonymous
Showing posts with label Poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poetry. Show all posts
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
A Special Gift Given
Monday was my mother's birthday. Not a major milestone number, but a special day nonetheless. So I had a special gift to share with her, and her delight was so much fun!
About a year ago I received an email asking for submissions to a new collection of prayers from women across the Anglican Communion. It was to be a follow up book to Uncommon Prayers and would be called Lifting Women's Voices: Prayers to Change the World. The submissions were to be focused on one of the eight Millennium Development Goals from the United Nations.
I wasn't sure I could do this - I hadn't written freely in a long time. I used to journal daily and often scribbled out poetry and short vignettes, but had let the practice go. But I love to write and this was just the challenge I needed to encourage me to sit down with my pen and paper again. I looked at the MDGs and struggled with what I could contribute. I wrote, crossed out, wrote some more, and wanted to scream in frustration. I had forgotten how hard it is to write something that my own self-critical eye would allow anyone else to see.
Then, one day, it happened. My then-future-husband and I decided to take his daughter to Green Valley Falls in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park to play in the waterfalls. We drove through what used to be a campground to the parking area, all the while marveling at the trees and environment in general struggling to come back from the devastation of the Cedar Fire in 2004. The Cedar fire is considered one of the worst human-caused wildfire in the history of the state of California and devastated a large swath of Southern California. The Green Valley Falls campground has been closed since the fire and will remain unusable until the environment can show significant enough stabilization to allow for consistent "residential" use again. Until then, it is a wonderful day trip from San Diego.
We parked and hiked the short trail to the falls, eating a picnic lunch overlooking one of the larger drops through the rocky canyon before making our way to the shallower end of the falls and wading into the water that felt icy in the summer afternoon heat. After a wonderful scramble over the rocks and through the pools and falls I retired to a quiet spot under some trees just upstream from where several families were frolicking in the water. There, I reflected on the wonders that God was working in the recovery of the fire-burned areas all around me and how it reflected in my own struggles with wedding planning, establishing a household, learning what it meant to be a stepmother, and the continual renewal of life. I wrote, and what I wrote spoke to me. So, with my husband's encouragement I submitted it. I didn't think much more about it - pretty sure that it would not be accepted as it didn't speak about the empowerment of women or the eradication of poverty or any other direct link to the MDGs. But it was accepted.
Just this summer Lifting Women's Voices was published. I didn't tell my mom, but ordered her a copy for her birthday. It arrived on my doorstep the same day we went to General Convention, and had seen it displayed in the Church Publishing booth in the exhibition hall. In fact, one of the editors, Abagail Nelson, was the preacher at the daily Eucharist that day.
Yesterday, I watched mom open this small gift to discover my poem (for those interested it starts on page 243 and ends on page 244) and the joyful surprise on her face when she realized the author of that particular prayer.
It was a good day.
About a year ago I received an email asking for submissions to a new collection of prayers from women across the Anglican Communion. It was to be a follow up book to Uncommon Prayers and would be called Lifting Women's Voices: Prayers to Change the World. The submissions were to be focused on one of the eight Millennium Development Goals from the United Nations.
I wasn't sure I could do this - I hadn't written freely in a long time. I used to journal daily and often scribbled out poetry and short vignettes, but had let the practice go. But I love to write and this was just the challenge I needed to encourage me to sit down with my pen and paper again. I looked at the MDGs and struggled with what I could contribute. I wrote, crossed out, wrote some more, and wanted to scream in frustration. I had forgotten how hard it is to write something that my own self-critical eye would allow anyone else to see.
Then, one day, it happened. My then-future-husband and I decided to take his daughter to Green Valley Falls in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park to play in the waterfalls. We drove through what used to be a campground to the parking area, all the while marveling at the trees and environment in general struggling to come back from the devastation of the Cedar Fire in 2004. The Cedar fire is considered one of the worst human-caused wildfire in the history of the state of California and devastated a large swath of Southern California. The Green Valley Falls campground has been closed since the fire and will remain unusable until the environment can show significant enough stabilization to allow for consistent "residential" use again. Until then, it is a wonderful day trip from San Diego.
We parked and hiked the short trail to the falls, eating a picnic lunch overlooking one of the larger drops through the rocky canyon before making our way to the shallower end of the falls and wading into the water that felt icy in the summer afternoon heat. After a wonderful scramble over the rocks and through the pools and falls I retired to a quiet spot under some trees just upstream from where several families were frolicking in the water. There, I reflected on the wonders that God was working in the recovery of the fire-burned areas all around me and how it reflected in my own struggles with wedding planning, establishing a household, learning what it meant to be a stepmother, and the continual renewal of life. I wrote, and what I wrote spoke to me. So, with my husband's encouragement I submitted it. I didn't think much more about it - pretty sure that it would not be accepted as it didn't speak about the empowerment of women or the eradication of poverty or any other direct link to the MDGs. But it was accepted.
Just this summer Lifting Women's Voices was published. I didn't tell my mom, but ordered her a copy for her birthday. It arrived on my doorstep the same day we went to General Convention, and had seen it displayed in the Church Publishing booth in the exhibition hall. In fact, one of the editors, Abagail Nelson, was the preacher at the daily Eucharist that day.
Yesterday, I watched mom open this small gift to discover my poem (for those interested it starts on page 243 and ends on page 244) and the joyful surprise on her face when she realized the author of that particular prayer.
It was a good day.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Church Happenings and Poetry Teas
For someone who is feeling deeply ambivalent about organized religion - especially politically charged denominations of the Christian Variety - I am doing an awful lot that is involved with them.
For starters, this past Sunday my mother and I were invited to take part in a Poetry Tea hosted by the Christian Education committee of a local Presbyterian Church where several friends attend. Our joint contribution was originally going to be only the centerpiece, but after the challenge of sixteen or so centerpieces for my wedding last September we felt rather an anticlimax once this one was planned out so we went whole hog and did the china place settings, flowers, and some sweets as well.
Since this was a tea based around people getting together to recite poetry we looked through all of our old books and came up with two beauties, which we accented with a beeswax candle in a silver holder, my Great-Great-Grammie Webster's silver teapot, a crystal bud vase from the last local crystal producer to the area my family is from, a teacup from my wedding china, an antique ink bottle and silver dip pen.
At each place setting (we chose to use my wedding china because it matched the blue and brown color scheme suggested by the books) we decorated the napkin with a rose, blue statice, and some gypsophilia.
My mother also provided some gingerbread petit fours and sugar cookie bookmarks while I offered shortbread made from my grandmother's recipe using lavender sugar.
As if this lovely afternoon wasn't enough of being up to my eyeballs in church, Tuesday I am going with my mother and others from around the diocese on a bus trip to the General Convention for the Episcopal Church.
I am hoping to run into some friends from my past endeavors - I was blessed to be a part of the Cathedral staff in Boston the year Bishop Barbara Harris retired and Bishop Gayle Harris was consecrated. It was a truly amazing experience for this girl who, at the time, didn't even know that we had women bishops and was still in a church where the rector referred to female clergy as "women in priest's clothing". You can't tell me there isn't a world of difference between the East and West coast churches! I hope to share some of my experiences when I return.
For starters, this past Sunday my mother and I were invited to take part in a Poetry Tea hosted by the Christian Education committee of a local Presbyterian Church where several friends attend. Our joint contribution was originally going to be only the centerpiece, but after the challenge of sixteen or so centerpieces for my wedding last September we felt rather an anticlimax once this one was planned out so we went whole hog and did the china place settings, flowers, and some sweets as well.
Since this was a tea based around people getting together to recite poetry we looked through all of our old books and came up with two beauties, which we accented with a beeswax candle in a silver holder, my Great-Great-Grammie Webster's silver teapot, a crystal bud vase from the last local crystal producer to the area my family is from, a teacup from my wedding china, an antique ink bottle and silver dip pen.
At each place setting (we chose to use my wedding china because it matched the blue and brown color scheme suggested by the books) we decorated the napkin with a rose, blue statice, and some gypsophilia.
My mother also provided some gingerbread petit fours and sugar cookie bookmarks while I offered shortbread made from my grandmother's recipe using lavender sugar.
As if this lovely afternoon wasn't enough of being up to my eyeballs in church, Tuesday I am going with my mother and others from around the diocese on a bus trip to the General Convention for the Episcopal Church.
I am hoping to run into some friends from my past endeavors - I was blessed to be a part of the Cathedral staff in Boston the year Bishop Barbara Harris retired and Bishop Gayle Harris was consecrated. It was a truly amazing experience for this girl who, at the time, didn't even know that we had women bishops and was still in a church where the rector referred to female clergy as "women in priest's clothing". You can't tell me there isn't a world of difference between the East and West coast churches! I hope to share some of my experiences when I return.
Monday, February 2, 2009
An Early Valentine
This lovely poem came across my desk today, and with Valentine's Day coming up I thought it would be appropriate to share.
The Art of Marriage
by Wilfred Arlan Peterson
Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
A good marriage must be created.
In the Art of Marriage, the little things are the big things:
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say “I Love You” at least once every day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end with this day,
it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other,
not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice,
but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation,
and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding,
and a sense of humour.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal,
dependence is mutual,
and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner,
it is being the right partner.
The Art of Marriage
by Wilfred Arlan Peterson
Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
A good marriage must be created.
In the Art of Marriage, the little things are the big things:
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say “I Love You” at least once every day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end with this day,
it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other,
not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice,
but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation,
and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding,
and a sense of humour.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal,
dependence is mutual,
and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner,
it is being the right partner.
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