I REMEMBER IT WELL by Brigid Clare Oak

This piece of writing flowed from the remembrance of the time when I began awakening to a Feminine Divine Presence...

It was about twenty years ago. While it was a beautiful awakening, it also brought with it much fear, and the challenging work of integration. 

Having been steeped in a religious tradition filled with exclusively masculine imagery and language, and most of my friends still being very much immersed in that tradition, it was nothing less than terrifying on various levels. Ultimately though, that Tender Presence I encountered all those years ago was sweet, strong, and insistent enough to make that integration well worth the effort and cost. 

For me, the Realm of Roses is the Realm of the Feminine. My reference to Ageless Angels has to do with a miscarriage and the death of my earthly mother which I experienced during the season of life memorialized in these words. 

I Remember It Well

by Brigid Clare Oak

I remember

the Realm of Roses

The softness of

seasons cycling round

The sound of Your Heartbeat

The tenderness of Your Touch

I remember

the weighted cloak of mists

and paths of damp petals

The lingering lullabies

of Ageless Angels who danced

too briefly upon the earth

I remember

a pink so pale

its subtlety took my breath away

and made an indelible impression

no bolder color could ever match

I remember

the painful eviction of fear

My determination to clear and to keep

a safe space within for You to dwell

O Blessed Lady, I remember it well

And I have earned

this present place of peace

having passed courses

offered only by the heart

in the Institute of Intuition

So that in this world

where You are so often

carelessly dismissed

and callously driven away

I acknowledge You

I bid You stay

Smiling over

the Shepherds and Kings

The Gentle Voice

Who sings the springtime breeze

And Whose laughter laps the rocks

along the brook

Who in calm understanding

of the wounded ways of man

has no stern word

for skeptics and scoffers

but offers always

the Warm Assurance of True Wisdom.

~

Painting by Oleg Buyko

Brigid Clare Oak lives a quiet life of poetry, prayer, and presence. She is a liturgist, vocalist, and composer of spiritual songs, and works also in the field of elder care and companioning. Brigid is mother to three beloved children; two grown sons and a teenage daughter. Together they enjoy copious amounts of tea, laughter, and love. 

~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~