“The heart breaks and breaks and lives by breaking.” Stanley Kunitz, “Testing Tree” When I first read this line, it was like a simultaneous punch in the gut and discovery of wings. Stanley Kunitz hinted at something I knew was possible, but didn’t have any real experience with—the ability to be hurt and stay open at the same time. Many years later, I see the invitation frequently. For instance, just this week I was walking with someone I love who said something to me that hurt very much. I felt the impulse to close up, shut him out, push him away. I felt the urge to blame, to point my finger, to change him. Yet in noticing the impulses rise, I also saw the invitation to let them go. I was able to speak to him and listen to him, then, from a place that was both hurt and open. It was incredible. In fact even now writing about it I am nearly giddy with the freedom that comes from the blessings of letting the heart break and not trying to fix it right away, an...
Women's Spiritual Poetry