heat on the brink of intolerability
radiator under the seat
my lips burst in dry heat
even the fake leather is hot
my head against the cold window
scratched milky pane
the city moves past distorted
my backpack on the seat beside me
a men-spreading prevention system
I take a deep breath and quickly exhale
smell of old diesel motor
exhaust gritty in my mouth
and yet
despite heat encroaching
despite fumes
despite stranger’s crotches
I am relieved
For I don’t have to carry time
time clamps my chest
weighs down my shoulders
yet here in movement
I don’t have to carry time
frustrating forced flow forward
is paused
I want to meander
I want to press hold on a moment
I want to go back
I want to jump ahead
I want to rest extended in space
until I am ready to continue again
and right now
right here
I am free
the bus splutters along the road
carrying time and movement for me
my thoughts wander along the rhizomes of life
resting at nodes of have and could have beens
Tag: mindfulness
Let your Soul Unwind
Just breathe and let your soul unwind.
Granddad’s advice holds steady.
Pause is important for the mind.
It keeps the soul and body aligned
Forfeiting pause is deadly.
Just breathe and let your soul unwind.
Be gentle with yourself. Be kind.
And now just let your breath be.
Pause is important for the mind.
Body, soul, and heart entwined.
In rest you find their beauty.
Just breathe and let your soul unwind.
Let sorrow go, leave it behind.
It often weighs too heavy.
Pause is important for the mind.
Embrace yourself. Embrace your light.
And learn to love your body.
Just breathe and let your soul unwind.
Pause is important for the mind.
My first villanelle (maybe?)! Poetry helped me learn English more, and get a better handle on the intricacies of this language, but writing poems based on very particular rules is pushing me way more out of my comfort zone.
So please let me know what works and what doesn't work.
And how the rhymes go ...
Kayaking in Arisaig
Suspended between water and sky
Stillness
Silence
Quiet splash of paddle
Then, now, and soon merge
As above so below
Mirroring clouds move underneath my bow
Nothing else matters
Of Being
Just being
Fluid time
Fluid space
The days bleed into one another
Full to the brim
As ever
Owl hoots seep through open windows
A happy little churn
My stomach
Be present
In time
In space
Everything is tuned into one song
The rhythm of life
A metronome
The sun warm on my skin
Wind in my hair
My breath
Be grateful
For time
For space
To be continued ... what do you think so far?
Outer Hebrides: Relenting (first draft)
The kayak moves in rhythm with the waves
We are far out of the bay
As we paused to sort the fishing lines
The swell became stronger
Pushing us out even further
I do not like this
I do not like relenting control of my kayak
Letting go
However, control is an illusion
The water pushes me on steadily
I can steer a little
Keep direction
But when a rogue wave hits
I have to let go
I have to relent
Otherwise the kayak topples over
We can but put some safe-guards in place
Life jackets, wet suits, throw ropes
Emergency whistle, knife
But life has its own mind
And often our direction changes
Without much choice
So there is nothing left
But to let the water carry you
Where ever it seems fit
Outer Hebrides: Connected
My thoughts are scattered here
Like the cloud cover
Dark grey
Anthracite
Patches of blue
Like the landscape
Screefields
Bald patches of rock
On otherwise green hills
Like the crosswinds
Pushing my kayak
Changing onslaught of waves
It’s hard to keep direction
I can’t find a story
Only snapshots
Of temporary manifestations
Whose inherent truth
Is as fleeting as the ever changing sky
But I know
Just know
Somewhere
Within
Outwith
Everything is connected
Outer Hebrides: Empty 2
Bare rock faces
moss, lychen, heather, hard grass stalks
glacial lakes, loch, lochans
The sky never ending
Meeting the waters of the Atlantic
In a distance hard to estimate
Desolate
Our first reaction
The landscape
Violated
Forced into shape
By layers of ice
Slow death
Creating new life
We see eagles, dolphins, seals
Wildflowers
Insects
Birds
Not so empty after all
Sheep are bleating
Outer Hebrides: Empty
Wide skies
Wide horizons
An eagle hovers
Empty your mind let your thoughts move through
Normally I struggle
But
Here
I can’t hold on
To a thought
To a worry
To a contemplation
Clouds move over
Every changing
Like my relentless thoughts usually do
Occasionally the clouds become stuck
Hovering over the valley between the mountains
Like the thoughts I should let go
Eventually the wind moves them on
Tumbleweed
The tumbleweed of random thoughts
Can your mind be empty?
Breathe the thoughts away
Let them roll, roll, roll
Down the stream of consciousness
The tumbleweed of random thoughts
Sometimes takes me places
I do not want to go
So like tumbleweed I just
Let them roll, roll, roll
Away
Until I am ready to look at the tumbleweed
Mind your Mind
Mindful-ness
Mindless
Mind-Full
Mind-Empty
Nothing
Not even the birds
I hear my steps
My breath
And raindrops
Gently falling from saturated trees
Silver sheen
On bark and pine
Grey skies
Diamond droplets
My mind calms
I hold
Stand still
Listen
No more steps
Just the droplets
Still gentle
My mind calms
And raises from depths unknown
Pictures of inherited memory
I freeze
With pictures of wilder-beasts
Of teeth
Of claws
And threatening snarls
Archaic memories
Scenting
Listening
Watching
No smells but earth and rain
No sounds but droplets
No feeling of being watched
I continue my walk
But still sing
mo ghile mear
Poetry by Nathalie 