Journey of the Heart

In January 2015, after spending many months reading wonderful poetry on Journey of the Heart blog, I finally found the courage to send a poem to Catherine Ghosh… Catherine published it the following day on the blog. I felt so encouraged and excited about this and felt that my year was made! Now, six months later I cannot believe that I have two poems and a chapter introduction in the newly released  Where Journeys Meet: The Voice of Women's Poetry .  This is the first time I have ever had poetry published in a book. At first I battled with so much self-doubt, uncertainty and feelings of being a total newbie. But because of so much empowering support from Catherine and the poetesses involved in the project, I only ever have felt so at home on this journey. Last night as I thought about the book, I could not sleep and felt like an excited child who got up Christmas morning and had received every toy she had ever dreamed of from Santa! There was a beautiful Full Moon...

This poem was the result of a writing prompt… The week this poem was created, I had joined an online writing group in hopes of learning to be more vulnerable with my art, becoming a bit more courageous in sharing it. It was such a beautiful group of ladies!  They held space for everyone in such a way that we all felt safe and loved. It was the opportunity I needed to really open up and allow myself to be seen. It was truly a life-changer. I am so grateful for the experience, and this poem was a huge part of that. Houses of the Holy by Jamie Burgess I have birthed ecstasy and new life from the darkness between my hips. I have nurtured tiny, beautiful humans with these bones housed within. They carry my weight, as well as my burdens, quietly absorbing all of my secrets. They have danced me up out of the ashes, supported my every move, and breath, and dream. Strength and sinew, they have proven their ability to e...

I love Summer! Seasons – all of them – are important to me, in the way I perceive life and death and my own place in the bigger picture. On a physical, emotional and instinctive level, though (partly because I have a Sunlight Deficiency condition that makes the darker seasons more difficult for me) I’m happiest in the Summer time. One of the blessings of Summer lies in the fact that because it’s warmer, more of my body can be bared to the elements and this makes me feel more deeply and profoundly connected to Mother Nature and, so, to the Divine Feminine. I love being barefoot – walking on grass or soil or sand, with nothing in between my skin and the ground. It “Grounds” me - both literally and metaphorically. Recently, I read an article that puts forward some of the physical reasons why walking barefoot is good for us. You can read the article here .  For so many of us, this confirms what we already instinctively know: Being barefoot is good. It helps to bring us...

Poetry has always been my refuge, my friend, my jubilation! I write most of my poetry in many different places of solitude. At other times, poetry is revealed to me in my dreams, at a park or as I sit near a pond. That is where I can really grasp the beauty of truth within my soul, and it is where my world begins to awaken. My latest poem "Inner Mystery" below, has sort of took on its own metamorphosis, within "me". Almost like a divine force was guiding my pen.  I have learned that as poets we often enter through the door of grief and our successive doors are doors of being birthed anew: a shedding of our false selves, an inner transformation.  Since the loss of my beloved Mother four years ago, I have noticed my poetry is transforming, taking me on a journey of inner healing and comfort.   Uncovering things that had been lying dormant and hidden for years.  Nothing can prepare you for the loss of a loved one, but somehow I find solace in knowing that ...

I feel that all women are healers at the deepest level… Most are just not aware of this grand gift that is the birthright of woman. The essence of nature is shakti , the Divine Feminine and we are being called as women of strength and wisdom to step forward and cultivate our gifts for healing the wounds of Mother Earth and her children. Dear Sister, will you answer the call? Photograph by Randy Plett Shamaness Woman, you are me, and I you Stand up! Awaken to your wild imperium Grand lady, sister mine Let wisdom be your docent Whispering on the wind, listen  Walk among the trees, call him friend Sit under the Birch, the wild Oak, He has something to impart you Woman ‘Go Shamaness, and heal the earth’ Woman, I am calling to you Come Warrioress, baptize yourself In Nature’s shakti, and know the world Lies within your belly, the cosmos Dormant in your spine, And your spirit cannot be broken,  Rise to your power Woman ...

This poem is about the “Sacred Feminine”… It emerged the winter of 2014 in the process of writing my third book, The Great Mother Bible. It is excerpted from the book. The poem is actually an adaptation of a similar poem written about the Divine Masculine or “The New Macho” found here , written by Boysen Hodgson. I was experimenting with the notion the Sacred Feminine and Divine Masculine were essentially the same as some have shared with me. So I looked at what Boysen wrote and thought his poem did need tweaking to address the Sacred Feminine, as I interpret the Sacred Feminine to be in the more ‘evolved’ women I know, and aspire to be. So that was the genesis of this poem. May each of us as women learn to step into this way of being sacred. Lordy knows, our Earth needs us to do this now. Artwork by Tamara Adams The Sacred Woman She cleans up after herself and others, but if they can clean up after themselves, she gently and firmly informs them   of ...