10 fundamentals to inspire the muse
Every process begins with purpose. I write poetry to capture beauty in language and imagery in hopes of healing myself and the world. Whether a poem is a euphoric expression of love, a lamentation, or a clarion call, it hastens healing by creating connection. Poetry is evidence of beauty’s persistence through struggle. Mary Oliver called it “a life-cherishing force.”
There is the world, and then there is poetry — a force that speaks back, that resists injustice, that forges a new future. This art form enables us to project our internal topography outwardly. It is how we shape ourselves and…
I can sense the propinquity of your body
by the sound of your peculiar stepping
through manicured mazes, a rather swift gait
rustling and cracking
wind and fire
I can sense the intense closeness of your body
by the way you maneuver through the
stealth choreography of topiary gardens–
a menagerie of hearts gone wild
your favorite kind of petting zoo
It is not long before I sense your entrance
onto this ephemeral stage
and it is not long before
you start dashing behind lions, pigeons,
long-stemmed sweetheart roses–
odd items of bramble that shape
themselves in stagnant play under the
nimble tutelage of a shy gardener’s…
Endless fields of rest await
The simple act of sitting
invites a chaotic mind
to an open field where it
untangles and rests
in endless space
Where it unfetters itself
from the worries
of this frenetic world
Where, as witness, it gains
enough distance to dissect
itself from leaden stories that
seek to define it, corral it
yet only serve as a yoke
Impermanence, once revealed,
devastates the ego whose
nature is grasping
Whose constitutive misbelief
is in the enduring nature
of things
Whose identity depends
on this wrong-thinking,
the ultimate illusion and
temptation of immortality
The mind’s incessant
churning separates us
from True Self…
Allow people to re-engage in their own time
I’ve always been big on compassion. I have all the markers of a sensitive person with porous boundaries. I’m drawn to the peace theologies of Christianity and Buddhism. While I am not always successful in exhibiting compassion, it is the path to which I aspire. I pray and meditate in order to cultivate compassion within myself so I can embody and share it. I also pray that it will be shared with me. As someone who manages life with bipolar, I find myself hoping for people’s patience and grace often. …
Marie Marchand
I write poetry to capture beauty through language and imagery in hopes of healing myself and the world. mishiepoet.com @mishiepoet
