Author Archives: Wendy

At the work site

Posted on by
Reply

How does it feel
to be a crayon among nails?
Your purpose distinct
but immeasurably far
from the other ones sharing the pocket

Your substance, which never could manage
to do what a nail does,
is suited for doing a thing that they never could do —
they will sink into wood and remain there,
you’ll leave your mark on the surface and stay where you are

There will be times
when the hand reaches in
and picks out the nails one by one,
but at other times,
it will reach through their sharpness
leaving them, searching for you.

©Wendy Mulhern
September 1, 2019

Sight

Posted on by
Reply

I give my eyes to Truth.
Truth, train my eyes,
in this and every moment —
let me see straight

Catch me before my eyes
connect the dots in some distorted way,
before they draw conclusions
from some vapid, hapless picture —
help me behold unfolding acts of grace
and hidden harmony,
let them spring up before me,
showing me the universe of good

And if I haven’t seen them yet,
let me hold on, unfazed,
let me hold out for Truth’s appearing
in its own timeless rhythm
throughout my days.

©Wendy Mulhern
August 31, 2019

Jewel

Posted on by
Reply

Afterwards, what I kept pondering
was the jewel in the storm,
the calm that could only be discovered
amid the raging, the peace
the storm brought out
by failing to ruffle it
even in the least

This is a thing to know about,
this is a thing to remember
even in lesser storms,
and when there’s no storm at all.

©Wendy Mulhern
August 29, 2019

Student

Posted on by
1

I am an eager student —
I pore over the text
as meaning pours in

Something deep inside
soaks it up, stretches out,
like roots, like leaves, like wings

This is not something
for me to tuck away,
to tell myself I may use later

This is breath, this is sight,
this is the sense of things,
these are my steps along
the present path of what I am.

©Wendy Mulhern
August 27, 2019

Summit

Posted on by
Reply

You come back from the mountain
and what gets you is the day to day,
the small decisions and the interactions
that have the same ruts they had
when you were here before —
you think everything should be changed
but it isn’t

This is the challenge
greater than the summit —
to integrate the things you saw
into the fabric of every day,
to walk the same paths
but go up higher,
to taste the mountain air
right where you are.

©Wendy Mulhern
August 26, 2019

Still

Posted on by
Reply

In the evening the wind stills,
and the work, though it continues till dusk,
is quieter — no thrum of generator,
no flap of windblown plastic,
just the intermittent buzz
of the skill saw, and the thunk
of extra rafter tail hitting the dirt

Later, we, too, will be still,
still in the aftermath of work,
still hefting lumber in our dreams.

©Wendy Mulhern
August 25, 2019

This Morning

Posted on by
1

This morning it felt like fall —
fog through the valley, lifting into powder blue,
night’s chill and sun’s warmth coexisting,
different smells in dampness and in dry places,
readiness in the air

A flock of goldfinches
were very happy with our sunflowers,
exclaiming and conversing
as they landed, swaying,
on the flower heads

I woke up knowing
the only thing real
is the goodness of everything.
I saw it everywhere,
seeming to rest on things
but actually
being what they are.

©Wendy Mulhern
August 23, 2019

A Book

Posted on by
Reply

A book is growing in me like a child.
It bumps against my insides
from time to time

I hum to it
when I think to,
I settle into the gait
of its weight

I sense the course of its development,
chapters like ears of corn,
words like the kernels

Things remain mysterious,
like how it will all come together —
it isn’t mine to pry the answers out

A book is growing in me
like a poem. It will come out
when it’s ready.

©Wendy Mulhern
August 22, 2019

Together

Posted on by
Reply

I guess I don’t know how
to pull myself together,
have no antidote
for centrifuge

I’m overcome
with feelings of expansion —
want shining love
for all these people,
want to understand
how this present light
fills them all with the overwhelming sense
that who they are
is just perfect
and how they look
is just fine
and what they give
is absolutely needed,
truly seen and gratefully received.

©Wendy Mulhern
August 21, 2019

Safe

Posted on by
Reply

Don’t panic. Don’t sink
from seeing the wind boisterous —
these are just screens before your eyes,
each one of them illusory
as the next

You can walk over these waves —
you don’t have to think
you need to change something
so you’ll be safe

Your security
is in the laws of your being,
the way you’re held beloved
in the Truth that holds everything,
every atom, every star,
in its perfect circle,
in its present grace.

©Wendy Mulhern
August 19, 2019