I find that the muse often strikes when
much of the world is asleep…
As this poem came through to me at 4:00 a.m.
following the memorial service of a 21 year-old member of our dance community. He
fell while hiking alone, and his mom was both torn and bereft and reaching for connection
with him from beyond.
While I did not intend it to be so, the
poem came through to me in the style of Rumi and the other Persian mystics:
fittingly as he was of Moroccan heritage.
The languaging for G*d is
purposefully open-ended so as to be inclusive; however the phrases used to
describe Him/Her are a translation from the Hebrew in my mind.
Song of Grief
Let yourself be as a hollow reed
so the wind-breath of the Blessed One can blow
through you
and play you
the sounds of your grief:
your moan
your sigh
your keening cry.
Do not close down or block
the Breath of life
from finding in you opening.
Gently, gently
let yourself be hollowed
From the inside out
or outside in
(either way).
Thus clearing the debris from the path,
so the sounds of the universe
of eternity
can play through you
and through that hollowness of your pain
and your grief and your longing
you can become
An instrument of the One.
 |
| 'Sorrow' by Julie Fain |
Linda Yael Schiller, MSW, LICSW is a psychotherapist, educator, author and dream-worker in Watertown, MA. Now in private practice, she has taught extensively at Boston University, Simmons College, and Regis College, as well as at national and international forums and seminars on dream-work, spiritual mind/body work, trauma treatment, group work, and integrating practical Kabbalah into both therapy and life. She nurtures her soul with gardening, hiking, dancing, writing, and being with family and friends. You may connect with Linda via her website here, her blog here, or on her new dream blog 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!~
Divine Timing for this poem to appear! Thank you - 3/4 marked the 2nd anniversary of my nephew's suicide and I realize that some wounds take longer to heal than others -- and then the Universe sends me this magnificent poem from your heart!
ReplyDeleteWow! I was just writing a friend about timing and how mysteriously it coincides with our heart's longings, when I read this comment of yours, Mary. It turns out that Linda had submitted this poem a whole month ago, and somehow it was lost for a while in my inbox! I found it only last night, on the tail of another suicide of a young man, which happened a few days ago. So yes: Divine timing indeed! Thank you for sharing. I have a feeling this poem is speaking to many hearts today.
DeleteYour flute struck the perfect notes. Moving and true. Your poem is a blessing
DeleteLovely words....but formatting symbols are appearing with more lines. I wonder why.
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