Author Archives: Wendy

Forgiven

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In my dream I said I was sorry.
You said it was OK,
and your forgiveness
lifted my spirits mightily

This is the case with much that I remember —
I’m sorry for what I didn’t understand,
but forgiven, for I didn’t understand. There is no need
for dwelling in regret —
new perspective brings a brand new page

So in the light of day
as in the dreaming night,
forgiveness wins —
there’s nothing more to pay
except attention to what is given,
the grace to love,
the fresh-washed day to live in.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 9, 2019

Sleeping

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I’ve been sleeping for a long time —
sleeping as I walk through my day,
some old tune looping through my mind,
sleeping as I do the needed tasks
without feeling much of anything

I started thinking how it might feel
to be awake to see and notice
the living forces moving through the moments,
the swift imperative impelling every life

The world could open out in color,
the sky would sing, the air would dance,
all things would celebrate each other,
all breath would praise,
and all the earth would laugh

Now when I think of it,
I try to wake myself up,
at least a little,
at least for now.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 8, 2019

Footing

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If I find you before you set foot
in the world, before its quick traction
grabs your steps, flings you
on an unintended path

If I find you in the impulse
of your desire, in your wish
for all the beauty and perfection
in all your interactions

Then I will see you as you are,
and hold, perhaps, a beacon
to help you find your footing
in this day.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 6, 2019

Holding down the world

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Let’s hold down the whole tarp of the world —
you at your point, me at mine, each of us
scattered like stars, like pin pricks in the fabric

There are enough of us to hold things steady,
to help them settle,
to calm the raging wrinkling crackling rippling,
keep it from being tumbled, over and over,
in the wind, keep it from ripping ragged

We hold it down in peace. We hold it
in unruffled knowing
that everything opposing
just really wants
to curl up and be cuddled,
just wants
acceptance in the Allness,
and the confidence
that there’s no need for fighting anymore

We’ll hold down the world
until it lies still,
until it rests velvet
along the contours of its love.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 4, 2019

Storm Ride

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The weather came through fast —
one moment, charming warm sun,
the next, a rolling dark cloud,
a strong cold wind,
rain visible across the valley,
trees on the east hill
making a rushing sound

The task we were doing
in peaceful progression
became urgent, rain rolling down
the roof we were trying to cover,
ladders getting muddy, footing slippery

I rode the rush of excitement
through the storm,
not minding the wet and the cold
or the need to persist with our task until done,
since we’d be there to see and to feel it.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 3, 2019

After Work

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It’s twilight and the colors fade —
the cat I’m petting
now the same shade
as my hands, my sleeve

She doesn’t like my writing
so she pushes her cold nose
against my hand, my pen, my book.
The visual texture of fur, of firs,
blends into similarity,
I can’t see my words

The turkeys in the trees are quiet now,
I hear crickets, and homebound traffic,
this cat is warm but the air grows colder —
time for a transition.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 2, 2019

The Season Turns

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I lit a fire this morning,
up before dawn,
before the sun slowly glowed
through the fog

Hot water rippled from the kettle
for my tea, the cabin
filled with warmth by then,
daylight peaking in

Later, for awhile,
the sun warmed everything it touched,
but evening finds us hoarding warmth,
holding close to heat sources,
seeking to absorb enough
to ease us through the night.

©Wendy Mulhern
October 1, 2019

Recurring Lesson

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Back to the loop again
of learning
not to be afraid —
it’s not that difficult,
though it may seem so
in the echo chamber
of my benighted mind

I free myself from there
by tracing, in my thought,
the circle that enfolds us all,
that leaves out nothing,
so everyone, and every cause,
surrenders to the fact of being loved.
And in the all embracing love,
there is no fear.

©Wendy Mulhern
September 30, 2019

Traveling Smiles

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The flight is full. I fill my soul
with comfort of humanity.
Some smiles are used to sell things,
but the ones caught here,
in the lines, the waiting,
the shifting into place —
these are free,
they sparkle three dimensions,
they reach deep

We can be herded and jostled,
scanned and screened and patted down,
but when we can smile to each other,
we keep our liberty.

©Wendy Mulhern
September 29, 2019

I take my shoes off

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Once again, I settle in to Soul,
the home that dwells in every moment
waiting to support, affirm,
waiting to release me

I take my shoes off.
I breathe deep. No longer
out of breath from sweating,
I can find the rhythm
of the full cycle. No longer pinned
under conflicting propositions,
I feel myself float. I let myself expand

It’s so freeing to remember
I am not enslaved. I owe no consequence,
have no indebtedness,
no fear, no shame —
my life is here in Soul,
and Soul knows my name.

©Wendy Mulhern
September 28, 2019