Skip to main content

HEART by BethAnne Kapansky Wright

I wrote the freebird fridays book during one of the darkest seasons in my life...

My brother passed away unexpectedly in January 2016, and during this time I was challenged to live the words of truth I am always writing about. Challenged to find the gifts of grace and light in extreme darkness. Challenged to trust Life to carry me when I struggled to carry myself. Challenged to find the seamless love to help bind together the jagged ends of an abrupt time line that made no sense. Challenged to let life rearrange me, so I could become more than I was before. 

Life handed me the question of grief and loss. The celebration love and hope and joy in this book is my response. I will still choose love. Come what may.

The freebird fridays book is a collection of poems, phrases, art and thoughtful words, which reflect my belief that all of life is a love story. Whether we are learning how to love ourselves, learning how to love somebody else, learning how to love others or learning how to fall in love with the life we've been gifted and the world we are lucky enough to inhabit. Even if we can't always see it, Love is always all around. 

Always.
Painting by the author, BethAnne Kapansky Wright


Heart
by BethAnne Kapansky Wright

You took the crumbs.

Convinced yourself
it was your due,
and it took you years
to realize you deserved
the whole loaf-
even if you had to learn
to be your own baker.

You've asked 
for so little so far,
and now it's your time
to know more.

So lift your spirit
to the sky,
and keep releasing
the lessons of the past
as often as need be,
and turn your attention
to that magnificent source
of life who has always
been with you and
who got you this far.

Do you hear the message
in its hallowed beats?
Do you feel it stretching
and trying to grow?
Do you know how deep
it longs for you?

Love was in you
all along-
you only had  
to make the space
to find it.

Painting by the author, BethAnne Kapansky Wright


BethAnne Kapansky Wright: I am a Clinical Psychologist who enjoys writing, illustrating and creating. I specialize in dealing with women's issues, life transitions, trauma, grief work, and finding healing in our relationships, especially our relationship with our self. I am a big believer in authenticity, intuition, the power of love, finding laughter and joy, and learning to be more fully human. My essays and poetry have been published in a variety of publications, and I am the author of the poetry books "Cranberry Dusk" and "Freebird Fridays" (due out November 2016, Golden Dragonfly Press). I currently lives in Anchorage, Alaska with my soul mate and our fur kids and my beloved mountains and trails. I can be found on Facebook or on my blog: Sunshine in Winter, 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

Popular posts from this blog

IMAGINE A WOMAN by Patricia Lynn Reilly

  This poem invites you to look upon yourself with loving kindness… Gazing at your own true reflection, you will discover that everything you have longed for “out there” is already within you! I invite you to love your creativity fiercely. Faithfully plant seeds, allowing under-the-ground dormant seasons, nurturing your creative garden with love and gratitude. In the fullness of time, the green growing things thrust forth from the ground. It's a faithful, trustworthy process. AND it takes time and patience.  Blessed is the fruit of your creative womb! I invite you to trust your vision of the world and express it. With wonder and delight, paint a picture, create a dance, write a book, and make up a song. To give expression to your creative impulses is as natural as your breathing. Create in your own language, imagery, and movement. Follow no script. Do not be limited by the customary way things have been expressed. Your creative intuition is original. Ga...

IN THE STILLNESS OF THE NIGHT by Ginny Brannan

 Just take a moment to pause... When life becomes rote, and frustration grows from being immersed in the same routine—different day, sometimes we need to remind ourselves that peace is still there—within our grasp— if we just take a moment to pause and enjoy the stillness and beauty around us. In the Stillness of the Night  by Ginny Brannan Late winter’s eve and all is still the lawn lies bathed in silver light— gray shadows race across the yard and climb atop the windowsill to draw my gaze upon the sight. I stare out to the moonlit night, across the deck and wooded path fresh–painted by new fallen snow. The scene infuses with delight; this gift inside storm’s aftermath. Half–buried now, the old birdbath lies shadowed deep in indigo— it waits on promise of the spring when arctic chill has finally passed and snow gives way to new green grass. With gratitude, I hedge to go; tranquility allays my soul… I turn ...

STILL I RISE by Maya Angelou

Six years ago, I had the privilege of listening to Maya Angelou speak live on the value of poetry at the University of Florida. I share these reflections with you again today, in honor of her birthday.  I was relieved to get one of the last seats available for this rare event, having arrived at five for Maya Angelou ’s free speech at eight. The historically long line began with people settled into beach chairs in winter coats busying themselves on tablets, or eating sandwiches for dinner. As helicopters hovered above and newscasters below, I felt the excitement of realizing that thousands of people were gathering together to hear an eighty four year old black woman recite her poetry! Maya Angelou speaking at University of Florida on Feb. 27, 2013  When the curtain rose -after an overflow of hundreds were sent away- we lucky ones on the inside greeted Maya with a standing ovation, as she smiled sweetly, beginning her talk using metaphors from nature. Maya asked...