I AM NOT A FLOWER by Dejah Beauchamp

These two poems, both titled "I am not a flower," arose out of my ever ongoing spiritual journey…

I'm currently reading a translation of the Hindu text the Ashtavakra Gita as well as Thich Nhat Hanh's biography of the Buddha, Old Path White Clouds. I find both to be scintillating, stimulating explorations of what it means to be human and the eternal quest we are on for answers to our biggest questions. Both books have turned my brain upside down (in a good way!).

These poems are my way of exploring those Big Questions, about the Self and non-self, being and non-being, the ache of suffering and the simultaneous joy of being alive. I think I'm beginning to learn that (sometimes at least) the question is the answer.

I am not a flower

by Dejah Beauchamp

I am not the sun, gilt in fire,

nor the changing moon.

I am not a cat

nor the bird it stalks

but cannot catch.

I am not a book

nor a birthday cake

nor the sweet tooth of a child.

I am not the finger dipped

into the bowl of frosting.

I am not the dreamer.

I am not the dream.

I am not Love.

I am not Hate.

I am not Nothing.

I am not Here.

I am not a flower.

I am not the world.

I am only “I am”

and not even that.

I am not a flower

A bee landed on my arm one day

as I sat out under the sun.

“Shoo!” I said, “Go away,

I am not a flower!”

It hummed away, leaving

a shining smear of pollen

on my arm. I guess

I was a flower, after all.

Dejah Beauchamp doesn't know the answer to anything, but she's perfectly content to wander aimlessly through life with the hope that she'll end up in the right place. She has written for Elephant Journal, Be You Media Group, and The Tattooed Buddha, and has had poetry published in Pilgrimage Magazine and Vine Leaves Literary Journal. She lives in New England, raising two sons and writing about all kinds of things on her blog, You can also connect with Dejah on Facebook, or Twitter.

~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!~

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