If something hurts you really bad
make an icon of it and put it in your sanctuary
hang it from the mirror of your car
or tuck it next to the pillow of your bed
Record the sickening thud and play it
until you fall peacefully asleep
Recall the heat of that searing shame
until it wells up in you like a cool breath
And if a poisonous snake should bite you
make a bronze cast of it and put it in a high place
Then raise your eyes to it considering well
that you are still alive, though changed
See the gaps where you have bled and
take the stitches from your closed wounds
weaving them into a mantle that you wear
for your morning and evening prayer
And if grace and goodness should require
that you look into the eyes of certain death
recall the transformations you have known
and go there knowing well . . . .
Anne Benvenuti 2006
I found this poem in the 2008 We'Moon calendar. It really speaks to me. I tried to locate the author but found a couple of Anne Benvenuti's and wasn't sure which one she was. I'd like to thank her.
6 comments:
I like that, too. It's a way of saying we can run.. but can't hide. :)
~*
Exactly.
Wow what a powerful piece of writing. Thanks for sharing it Angela. Every time I read it it speaks to me in a different way about accepting and/or getting rid of my shame. Life is . . . accept it . . . Let the Great Spirit have control . . . enjoy.
Someone said to me the other day "In a hundred years everyone we know including our children will be dead." and I worry so about what others think of me.
YOu have a really interesting blog here. Please keep up the great work on these posts. I would love to try this tactic as a means of mental health recovery.
Amazing poem Angela -- at this time of year we have real live cobras all over the garden (they are searching for water) and I keep having to remind myself that they are very shy and far more scared of me than I am of them. The serpent phobia is one of the oldest known to humankind and we learn a great deal about our fears when we face them and embrace them.
Hugs to you
Mary
I love love that snake sculpture! I want one.
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