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WAITING TIME by Ruth Calder Murphy

I don't like waiting…

I don't like having to sit still when I have a list of things I feel I should be up and doing. I don't like being laid up, or held up or slowed down..

In truth, I suppose, I’m not naturally a very patient person, although motherhood, experience and age has taught me—along with many other things—how to become more patient and more at ease with having to be patient.

I’m not a natural “wait-er”, but I'm trying to learn the lesson that these slow times: periods of enforced stillness and slowness, whether days or weeks or hours or minutes, are not wasted time or empty time, but are an opportunity for me to learn different ways of thinking and seeing and being. I've a long way to go, but I'm getting there.
Ticking Clocks by the author, Ruth Calder Murphy

Waiting Time
by Ruth Calder Murphy

Waiting time
is not wasted time,
so much as breathing time
and learning patience time
and time to be reaquainted
with the inside of my head…
Standing in line
is not a sign of decline,
so much as space
to re-set the muscles in my face
and realign myself with the constancy
of Grace.
Waiting time can be frustrating time
- a howling at the moon time,
a time to dance slow waltzes with the Black Dog
and to fraternise with the flip-side of hope.
Like standing on a trap door,
or dangling from a rope,
wondering how far I’ll fall before I hit the floor,
waiting to be emptied out or swallowed whole…
But waiting time is not wasted time,
though it fills my soul and spills over the edges like tar.
Waiting time is gestating time—
staying still to travel far,
to grow and bloom.
Sitting in the shadows of Life’s waiting room,
discovering the secrets of Earth.
Waiting time
is not wasted time,
so much as breathing time
and learning patience time—
time to curl into the darkness of the womb,
waiting for another birth.

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author of two published novels, The Scream and The Everlasting Monday, several books of poetry and one or two as-yet unpublished novels. More of Ruth' Spiritual poetry can be found in her book, Spirit Song and the soon-to-be-released sequel, "River Song". 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, or on her writer's page on Facebook. All her books are available on Amazon, 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!~ 

Comments

  1. "and time to be reaquainted
    with the inside of my head…"
    Oh my, yes!

    ReplyDelete

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