Although I was brought
up as a Christian and have embraced my Christian heritage, I can't - and never
want to - stop wondering and wandering!
There are so many questions - so many ideas to explore, so many
perspectives on truth and beauty and so many places where they can be
discovered. Jesus said, "Seek and you shall find, knock and the door will
be opened to you."
I feel as though it is in the seeking - actually through the seeking
and exploring, not at some potential destination - that it is possible to find
a spiritual path. That the questions and the exploration and the path itself is
where I should be, not at some place where I finally know all the answers.
"The Wonderer"
reflects this journey and also references the idea that death and resurrection,
a core part of the Christian narrative, is a daily thing - in this case, the
death of arrogance and certainty in one's own assumed answers and the dawn of
new life in discovering truth and beauty wherever it might be found.
 |
| "Kate the Rainbow" by Ruth Calder Murphy |
The Wonderer
This
is the Wonderer’s way,
the
Wanderer’s way,
the
journey of a thousand questions,
each
with a thousand more.
This
is the Socrates way,
the
way of undoing,
of
stripping away.
This
is the Solitude way,
the
thunder of infinite questions
echoing
silent in the eternal void.
This
is the Discovery way,
the
never-knowing,
always-asking
way
that
spins me in wild choreography
to
the music of stars
and
the rhythm of life.
This
is the Dancing way,
the
Living way,
the
filled-with-wonder way.
This
is the Come-to-the-End-and-Begin-Again way,
the
way of death
and
resurrection
every
day.
 |
| "Kate on the Rooftop" by Ruth Calder Murphy |
Ruth Calder Murphy is a writer, artist, music teacher, wife and mother living in London, UK. Her life is wonderfully full of creativity and low-level chaos. She is the author of one published novel, “The Scream,” several books of poetry and one or two as-yet unpublished novels. She is passionate about celebrating the uniqueness of people, questioning the unquestionable and discovering new perspectives on old wonders. She is learning to ride the waves that come along—peaks and troughs—and is waking up to just how wonderful life really is. You can visit Ruth and view more of her art on her website here, or on her Facebook page.
~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!~
Thank you for this deeply reflective poem, dear Ruth, where I found your presentation of a daily death and resurrection fascinating! I also loved the mood and imagery in these lines: " This is the Discovery way, the never-knowing, always-asking way that spins me in wild choreography to the music of stars and the rhythm of life." It paints such harmony between being open and inquisitive, and the nature of life itself. And of course, your paintings compliment it in a most lovely and vivid way that accentuates the dynamic movement of ideas in your poem. Thank you for another eventful contribution to this poetry community!
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