I am whole I have the capacity for earnest joy I am full of gratitude and divine grace I am free to breathe easy -gws
I am… I have… I am full of… I am free..
Struggle and Acceptance
Knocked off my feet Tumbled and tossed Disoriented Lost Struggling Fighting Failing Unable to know up from down Gasping and desperate Threatened Panicked Scared *relax* *float* *you can ALWAYS float* I still myself Relax Trust Know And begin to ascend Freed from the struggle that was threatening me And distracting me from remembering my power Surrendering to acceptance isn't giving up or in It's accepting that it's okay to let go of the fight If it allows you to care for yourself It's having faith that divinity will help you with Rest of the heavy lifting Be present Be peaceful Be silent Be gentle Be... Just Be And the rest will work itself out -gws
Profound Gratitude
Given gifts of joy Being fully seated in the body Experiencing full presence Lingering moments of stillness Rooted in sense memory Reminding me how to be fully whole Fusing me to the earth and heaven In the space between breaths Leaving me in profound and All-encompassing gratitude for being alive -gws
Place Holder
You grabbed me in the airport souvenir shop and took me home You needed me because you were leaving her behind Leaving her to her new life New adventure in a New state Without you The distance was large and though I am small I am a place holder for a love that is larger than time and space You need my fluff to represent her hugs You knew she wasn't really leaving you It was just time for her to start a new chapter in her life You were used to being the one to go adventuring knowing she was Always there to return to She was always home Both a person and a place And now the place was changing And you could no longer just show up on her door when you need her When you are sad or missing her, you have me I am the recipient of her hugs and her love When you need more than her voice on the telephone You imbued me with magic that flows from your love for her And her unconditional love for you I am the quiet but cuddly representation of the love Shared by a mother and daughter Separated by distance But not by heart -gws
On Pandemic Parenting
A full circle 'round the sun And we're still doing this thing Trying to fit square pegs into round holes Trying to maintain a sense of normal When normal died an agonizing, public death last year Keeping small children indoors, on screens, for a year Taxes sanity for every family member The kids are stir crazy and so am I I’ve been able to see them all day, everyday for a year See their growth physically and emotionally Guide them more than I would have been able to before I have also watched us all struggle to focus on school With two-dimensional teachers trying to illustrate a 3-D world On screens where glitches are common and staying attentive is taxing Where friends aren’t friends, and discipline a suggestion How will the kids remember these times Will they see it as a blessing or a loss How will they tell their own tales of this lost year Will they consider the year a loss at all Or the time they got to spend everyday with each other And their parents Only time will tell Soon we will emerge again into a new and changed world We will learn to navigate We will learn a new version of normal Though I am exhausted beyond reason I am grateful for this year with my children I know I haven’t always been my best nor have they But we’re all, relatively, unscathed in the grand scheme As the weeks of school dwindle down, The weather warms and the days lengthen We work for the finish line where we will celebrate that we all survived This extraordinary year as a family and weigh our success by our efforts And not our results -gws
I Am Enough
Today I wake and remember I am enough. I strive to live honestly And with integrity as I walk in my truth Embracing all of my imperfections because I am enough. When storms rage and tempers rise I will place a hand on my heart and Breathe into my belly remembering I am enough. When I judge myself harshly When I feel like I failed myself or others I forgive myself and remember I am enough. I will end my day in gratitude for all I have experienced All I have learned from those experiences I will lay my head down at the end of the day And whisper into the dark I am enough. -gws
The Heart Chamber
I want to keep my inner temple door open I want to access its halls Its richness and warmth Its flickering torches Its cool wellspring whispering soft and constant reminders That I am connected to the lifeblood of all things This is where my alchemical magic lives Where all versions of myself dance to the rhythm of starlight and moonsong In this sacred place I AM In this safest place I CAN BE I want for nothing I lack nothing I am the entanglement of sunshine and shadow I am perfect harmony I am radiant beauty as I exalt my truest self in this place where only divinity touches The breath guides me here, and will return me again When I have need to touch love -gws
Guardians of the Gate
(A Metaphoric Day Job Poem)
Welcome, dear Traveler, to our domain.
We, the keepers of this checkpoint, are here to help you take heed
Listen well to our advice for there are many dangers before you
Pay close attention to all we say, and success shall be yours
Ignore our guidance and know that you will make a wonderful meal for the creatures beyond,
and we have all the popcorn we could want for to enjoy the show.
Fare thee well!
-gws
The Noise!
Little boys!
Little boys!
What is with all of the noise?!
I don’t understand how people so small can sound like a herd of elephants in the hall?
The thumping and bumping!
The hooting and hollering!
How do you not tire yourselves out with your efforts?
Cacophonous giggles and laughs…
Oh gosh! What was that crash?!
Your clothes are tearing as your adventures are wearing…
me out!
-gws
Ghosts
Driving down the roads of my past
I see your ghost everywhere
The halls where I met you
The neighborhood where you lived where we first kissed
The theater where we saw that awful movie on our first date
Years have passed
The place we both once called home is nearly unrecognizable now
So much has changed but the memories of you and me are still
Alive in the footprints of buildings and businesses long gone
Bringing a bittersweet smile to my face as I see muted-color memories
Of what we were and what we never became
We live different lives in different worlds
Practically strangers though still linked inextricably and inexplicably
By threads of fate we never were able to understand
But could only accept without question or comment
Permanent tattoos upon each other's hearts
Placed there by a power who knew that we needed each other once
And who seems to know that we need the memories of that connection as they were yesterday
I hope you see my ghost, too
She's waiting with a hug that has only ever been for you
And may our ghosts continue to share what we no longer do
In a time and place that no longer is
Except in faded photographs and our souls
-gws
Words Wishes and Wisdom 