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FEED MY SHEEP by Anita Brown

If you saw author Paulo Coelho on Oprah soul series you will know from whence my inspiration came!!

I thoroughly enjoyed his amazing life story and slept like a rock until I was awakened at 5 a.m. to pen the following.  It flowed from me as I acknowledged my confidence arising in the blessing I have to share using my voice.  We all have the ability to genuinely encourage and hold one another up.  May we recognize how deeply our own hearts are filled each time we offer a kindness to another.

Feed My Sheep

speak truth into the hearts and minds and ears
of your fellow man
feed him the living bread of life
with your words

his ears will devour this very provision
like a hungry wolf
waiting in the dark, wooded corner
of his soul

he will
chew and chew
and chew
on your offering
until all at once
it will fill him to overflowing,
his mouth spewing
the prized excess

he will know
that this very sustenance
shall abide in him
all the rest of his days

at first, he will nervously proffer
just the fallen crumbs
to the starving,
lifeless
woolpack

questioning:
will these scraps
suffice
in fattening the calf?

repeatedly surrendering and trusting
the amplitude

And like a loaf growing
10 times in size,
this newly trained shepherd
shall find
his own speech 
contains the proper nutrients
to nourish the
not-so innocent lambs

the sheep and shepherd
shall wander the pastures as ONE

contentment and purpose
perfuming
the dung-scented
meadow air

Anita Brown is a content mother of two teenagers and wife of 20 years, both of which she is grateful for every day. She began writing poetry in the fall of 2012 after a mini-breakdown cracked open her heart and allowed this newly found gift to shine through. Many months later, she is realizing the truth in the saying that ‘breakdown equals spiritual awakening’ as she is pleasantly shocked at how much more peace she has in her spirit and how that is reflected in her life.  Anita loves yoga, dancing, traveling, cooking, walking her golden Sierra, and quiet evenings at home. She especially enjoys teaching meditation to under-served communities and listening to others as they express the same joy at the transformation occurring from such simple but regular practice.


~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!~

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