HEAVEN by Jhilmil Breckenridge

This poem was written as my Day 29 poem on my month long immersion in Tiferet Journal’s Poem-a-thon for April 2016’s National Poetry Month...

We were given a prompt to write a poem on what heaven meant to us, whether or not we believe in it’s conventional description.

I started with the conventional, that spirituality and faith lead us to peace, but as I wrote this poem, like with all my writing, it takes on it’s own form, and I started looking at common proverbs that we are told, in the spirit of this too shall pass, light at the end of the tunnel, etc. And I started questioning why people think pain is bad, and why shouldn’t we celebrate the rain just as we celebrate rainbows?

My own spiritual practice is deeply rooted in mindfulness, meditation and yoga and I believe, in every breath, we are reborn, and in every breath, we die. Although I was born a Hindu, my Muslim grandmother had the most influence on me, and I was married to a Christian for 21 years, so really, my own conventions of religion take the best from all, and I always shun labels. I hate saying, for example: "I am a Hindu woman from India". Why should that be important? We are all people, human beings, and so I like to follow Krishnamurti’s suggestion that each time we identify with a particular religion, a particular race, we "commit violence". I hope you enjoy this poem, and I hope you can find peace and heaven, just where you are.

Reunion at the Gates of Heaven by Naomi VanDoren

Heaven

by Jhilmil Breckenridge

Faith was given

To endure suffering

Rainbows help us

To wade through rain

The light at the end of the tunnel

Oh, why is life so hard?

Every cloud

has a silver lining

And after the darkest night

the brightest dawn

We grow with these proverbs

To help us make meaning of life

And heaven, too

A mythical reward for suffering

But heaven is right here, right now

You just have to believe

And the flip side of suffering is joy

And rain is made for dancing in

Tunnels are a break from the noisy highway

And have you seen anything as pretty as a cloud?

Dark nights are magical

Velvety kisses of silk on skin

So, to all the inventors of proverbs, here is a new one:

Heaven is a state of mind.

Photograph "Dew at Dawn" by Jhilmil Breckenridge

Jhilmil Breckenridge is a poet, writer and activist who speaks out about mental health, incarceration and abuse. She has just completed her MA in Creative Writing from the University of Westminster. Her poems often worry about issues of feeling lost in a changing world, the immigrant or foreign experience, love and loss and longing, and nostalgia for times gone by. She is Fiction Editor for a South Asian literary magazine, Open Road Review. She is working on her first novel and when she is not writing, she is chasing clouds and rainbows with her iPhone. You may connect with Jhilmil on Twitter here.

~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!~

IMAGINE A WOMAN by Patricia Lynn Reilly

This poem invites you to look upon yourself with loving kindness… Gazing at your own true reflection, you will discover that everything you have longed for “out there” is already within you! I invite you to love your creativity fiercely. Faithfully plant seeds, allowing under-the-ground dormant seasons, nurturing your creative garden with love and gratitude. In the fullness of time, the green growing things thrust forth from the ground. It's a faithful, trustworthy process. AND it takes time and patience. Blessed is the fruit of your creative womb! I invite you to trust your vision of the world and express it. With wonder and delight, paint a picture, create a dance, write a book, and make up a song. To give expression to your creative impulses is as natural as your breathing. Create in your own language, imagery, and movement. Follow no script. Do not be limited by the customary way things have been expressed. Your creative intuition is original. Gather

IMBOLC by Caroline Mellor

The inspiration for this poem came after I watched a magical winter sunset and full moonrise from the top of Firle Beacon in the South Downs... Unusually for me, I wrote the poem quite quickly and changed it very little before publishing it – perhaps the energies were working through my pen! Imbolc is the mid-point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It’s a fire festival which I particularly love because of its associations with Brigid, the Celtic Mother Goddess of arts and crafts, clear sight, healing, inspiration and nurturance of creative talents – something which, through my writing, I am always trying to connect with. I also love Imbolc because, with so much darkness and negativity in the world today, it is a time for hope, potential, visioning and initiation. With love and blessings as the light returns. Photography by Chanel Baran IMBOLC by Caroline Mellor I am the dream of awakening. I am the returning of the night. I am the tough green

WINTER SOLSTICE: A GIFT OF LOVE by Carolyn Riker

I’ve had several days now of alone time… It is unusual and a gift that I couldn’t see until I breathed it. I have been able to watch the sun’s rise through the grey of dawn and smile at the flickers of frost melting on the waving boughs of evergreen. It’s unique to follow daylight as it traverses the tempo of a cat’s soft slumbering purr. Night comes swifter and the glow of candles and the flames of fire comfort me more than the steady stream of always-doing-more. As much as I resisted, I needed this break. I had no idea how much my body was trying to tell me slow down until the exhaustion settled in around my joints. My eyes swam in molasses. Heaviness of I-can’t-hold-out-much-long, walked me to the throne of my nest. It’s winter’s gift of self-nurturing and love. It’s been a quiet proclamation of femininity and a need for comfort foods. Lemon crisps and cranberry, white-chocolate shortbread dipped in tea; I felt a hint of being pampered without

Journey of the Heart

Search This Blog