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GOOD FRIDAY by Anita Brown

Poetry is never meant to be literal; but the opposite of grasping just might be digestion…

This piece comes from a place I call my balancing act;  between the two worlds of yoga and being a Christ-follower. It’s not really two worlds of course!  There is only ever reconciliation back to ALL.  Imagine where this world would find itself if we awoke with new eyes to see, new ears to hear and a new mouth to speak the TRUTH.  Nothing is separate, everything is desiring wholeness.

Jesus’ life, message, and archetype have been powerful in deepening my yoga practice.  Matthew 5 states:

 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. 
He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

 Doesn’t it seem like it’s the sinners who are hungrier than the so-called saints?  May I continue to acknowledge that place of emptiness that longs for the only food intended to satisfy. May I continue to not satiate myself with worldly provisions, leaving me stuffed and spewing excrement out the mouth.

And yet, even the BS that I unconsciously speak can be used for transformation— I toss it on the inner fire and anticipate the sweet, sublime scent of Sophia (Wisdom) arising from the blaze.

A Good Friday Indeed
by Anita Brown

 why did you come?
if not to pierce and taste
the flesh bread of life
allowing it to
invade
the nooks and crannies
of you
like oil
pressed from olive sweet,
reminding you
of your own
lusciousness

whilst empty
surrender to the mystery
of nothingness
of devotion
of digesting your discomfort

expand
into reality
of being
a moveable feast

ordering reverence off life's menu
savoring its sacred sweetness
between
the invisible layers of grief,
of shame

we've been spoon-fed lies
the manna is hidden,
unrecognizable
we are anorexic,
desirous of the ambrosial nectar.

getting tipsy on our own
converted fears
trusting
him who makes mercy wine
from arrogant tears

clear the haze from your eyes
scrape disbelief from your tongue
pass and drink

Ingest revelation!
divinity disclosed
EVERYWHERE
In
EVERY Blessed,,
Bitter morsel
Art by Yongsung Kim 

Anita Brown is a content mother of two teenagers and wife of 20 years, both of which she is grateful for every day. She began writing poetry in the fall of 2012 after a mini-breakdown cracked open her heart and allowed this newly found gift to shine through. Many months later, she is realizing the truth in the saying that ‘breakdown equals spiritual awakening’ as she is pleasantly shocked at how much more peace she has in her spirit and how that is reflected in her life.  Anita loves yoga, dancing, traveling, cooking, walking her golden Sierra, and quiet evenings at home. She especially enjoys teaching meditation to under-served communities and listening to others as they express the same joy at the transformation occurring from such simple but regular practice.


~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!~

Comments

  1. I love the rhythm in your ecstatic poem... love the non-mental word feelings that touch my heart and guts directly... yes poetry bypasses grasping mind, poetry pokes, prods, caresses, burns, instigates, awakens the innerlayers , the soft, feeling, tender, often encrusted emotional beingness and ecstatic seeking Lover of Divine... your poetry speaks your own burst-open heart, directly and un- inhibited to the living breathing cells of my holy body....asking of me,,,, 'why did I come here" as a christed consciousness being... and I love to turn the question back to you, and to each human, each dear christed one... thank you for your divine Inspire-ation on this good friday, a day to self-reflect on the ways we still crucify the holy self, still crucify each other,,, sur-rendering all to the blaze of Sophia! much love to you, dear SiSTAR of Light

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing your beautiful experience of Anita's poem, dear Shree. She has been tying to reply to you here, without success. (Sometimes the blog has glitches in it. Sorry about that) Please know however, that the author was very pleased to receive it. I hope she's able to post her reply here shortly. In the meantime, thank you for your inspired reflections!

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