Category: Poems

We live a life
Layer on layer
Like four hands
Placed one upon the other
In a moment
Of remembrance
Of thankfulness
Before a meal
Made whole
By the words
Of those hands
Remembering
Those many other hands
That too laboured long
To provide the substance
For a prepared repast
And the four hands
Move
Stroking gently
In a touch of love
Sent out to the world
To all who
Made possible
This meal
Here now

So too
Do we layer
Our life together
Filling time
With the substance
Of our actions
Giving moments
Filled with
Acts of
Care and consideration
Gestures of
Love and affection
Words of
Understanding and interest
Empathy from one
Layered over by
Affirmation from the other
Plans of action
Layered by
Enthusiasm from the other
Pain expressed by one
Covered by
Loving aid from the other

All this
Seen
Felt and
Acknowledged
By both

Thus is created
Life celebrating life
Living affirming living
Love reciprocating love

We pass
Hand-in-hand
Together
Through this life
We are creating

Thoughts of Remembrance
before we eat the meal.

We remember
Many hands have helped
And hope that
Many hearts rejoice.

This body is a gift from life
So close we often see it not
So hidden are its inner workings
So efficient are its inner workings
We think it needs little from us
What harm we do it corrects
As best it can
For as long as it can
No manual guides us

Over the centuries
Since the dawn of early time
Seldom did our social wisdom
Guide us to healthy living
No science
To inform us of our physical needs
Only the cries of our own bodies
Its aches and pain
Its dysfunctions and death
Gave warning
That something was wrong
But we knew not
Their meaning
The body cries
But does not tell
Of what is wrong within
So we neglect this vehicle
And live for decades
In bad ways
And then suffer
Because of our neglect
But do not claim
Responsibility
We lived to satisfy
Our needs
We live seldom thinking
Of this vehicle
That is us

A myriad of times
Every day
We think of our wants
Of the things we have to do
To live socially
To live economically
To live happily
Or even just to get by
Just to avoid
The anxieties and pains
Of life
Seldom of caring
For this body
Of sitting right
Of walking right
Of proper daily
Physical activity
Of maintaining muscle relaxation
Of learning proper bowel control
Of keeping a healthy bladder
Of protecting our hearing
Of using our eyes
In healthy ways
Of cleaning our bodies
Without hurting them
Of breathing right
Of protecting our joints
Of having regular good healthy sex
Of maintaining proper balance
Of energy
Of nutrients
Of water
Of wakefulness and sleep
Of temperature
There is much we have to do
In the conscious interlude
Of the day

And there is much
We have to do
To ensure a healthy night
Enough time
Not too little
Not too much
Right temperature
Right comfort
For sleep brings healing
To all the systems
In our bodies
And in our minds

To live
A long and glorious life
We need to be mindful
Not only of life’s meaning
But of the realities
Of life lived
Our times with others
Our times with our mind
And our constant time
Within our body
For it is what makes
Everything else possible
It needs us to develop
Habits of care and renewal
So that that in which we travel
Allows us to travel well

It is a gift
That comes with responsibility
So much in our lives
Will depend upon
How we exercise
That responsibility

This Heart
What is this heart that you have
Hidden behind the pleasures of intimacy
Giving the very substance of your body
Bearing the sensation of this joyful pain

What is this heart that you have
That functions daily for that
Which comes too early
To survive alone in the world
Which prepares a repast
In its own body
For that which cannot feed itself

What is this heart that you have
That teaches all
That is needed to live
That shares love unrequited
That shares love unconditional
So that which knows not love
Learns to be loved without earning it
And shares love dependent
So that which knows not love
Knows how to make love grow

What is this heart that you have
That reveals the truth
That all need caring
That all are significant

That life is hugely meaningful
Within which
Pain and sorrow
Pleasure and happiness
Disenchantment and contentment
Are but small parts
In the great whole
Of connected existence

What is this heart that you have
That puts you in that supportive place
When others who do
What you have done
Need that helping hand
Need that holding arm
You are there
Guiding love
From one generation
To another

What is this heart that you have
It is the heart of the Mother.

The bush was thick
Knee-high grass
In tree copses
Low branches
Tugging at your sleeves
Scratching your face
Birds singing everywhere
High trees
Reaching up
To a hidden sky
With hidden sunbeams
Only occasionally
Escaping the
Canopy roof
And funnelling down
To aching leaves
With life-longing chloroplasts
Hungry for the descending
Photonic feast