In the view behind my eyelids
everyone kept walking through
with marked purpose.
They made stories for themselves
out of the ambient sound
It didn’t take long
for me to drift away
nor yet to jolt back
like falling off a cliff
awakeness catching me
just enough to set me down
When there is nothing new
in what the day has to report
there is always the allure
of the edge before sleep
and thought’s opening
to the vast expanse of dream.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 28, 2018
Let me stay here
in the soft bubbles
of easy laughter
where everything is forgiven
because no harm was ever done
because how could it be?
—Given that we always
have been beloved,
given that we always have walked
in the garden of belonging,
always have owned
the grace to move
softly and deeply
through the landscapes of our lives.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 27, 2018
We put in our protest
against this box of pain —
it doesn’t get to hem us in
or stare us in the face
in every place we turn
How have we asked to be betrayed?
What have we swallowed
to render us unworthy?
Where have we believed
that we deserve this pain —
What have we chosen?
We asked to be beloved,
we asked to be the ones
who shine the essence forth
of all that is
We asked to have the depth
that would include ourselves
and everyone we see
and everyone we know about
in the hallowed harmony
of who we are
We have not asked for pain,
and what we have not asked for
we can not receive.
This is what I ask
to see for myself.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 26, 2018
I see you there
steering your ship
behind eyes that you feel
not quite tall enough
to see out of,
reaching for the controls,
confused about which one does what
and how much force to apply —
I see your bravado, and
maybe a few of your other veils
Don’t worry — we all feel that way
at least some of the time.
I know we all want
the same thing —
Here — have a little gentle laughter,
the kind that tells you
you’re eternally accepted, the kind
that lets you know
you belong here forever
in the home-free tumble-fest of life.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 25, 2018
We will walk out of that house
and maybe leave the sadness behind,
let it become the emptiness
that calls out to another family
Let them imagine
filling the space,
growing up into it,
finding its secrets
and making their own
while we walk
into our new life
surprisingly unencumbered.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 24, 2018
Peaceful as evening,
as a fire-warmed house
and brisk fresh air outside,
low crescent moon
among the branches
Peaceful as being clean
after a hard day’s work,
this glow has settled over me
It lets me know
there never was a way
I could fail at my life,
foolish though I may have been,
innocent as I may ever be
All I’ve been given
was given with love,
and I have received it
with enough grace
that I can feel where it comes from.
I can receive it
as deeply as this peace.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 22, 2018
In these first days
I take a lot of time
teaching myself
where things go
In these last days
I grow more ruthless
about letting things go
In the stretch of memory
my mind inhabits
at all the moments in between,
I feel content with how it’s all played out —
what I have done, what I have been
Funny how I find happiness
not along the lines of time
but in the light the present casts
into the chambers of my mind.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 21, 2018
The dishwasher in this house
is louder than the washing machine
They are engaged
in an industrious duet
Their rhythm is suggestive
of riding on a train
dancing down the slightly swaying cars
The washing machine
is using hot for cold
to the detriment of all our woolen socks
The dishwasher sounds
as if something came loose
and is flailing around in the slosh
I’m grateful to the one
who will give them their adjustments
so they can faithfully perform their tasks
They both are doing work
I’m glad to let them do,
so I will not complain about their music.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 20, 2018
In the place of home
named Who You Are,
nothing ruffles you
You will still hear
the raging outside,
you will see the great array
of arguments and power plays
that say you should be
scared and cowed and battered
But yours will be the peace
of being untouched
by anything that’s not your maker,
unplayed
by anything that’s not
your sweet musician,
unmoved by anything
except the grand harmonic motion
that defines you, new in every moment,
that delights you in the humming
of your being.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 19, 2018
Ease your heart —
courage forms
in the pools
of thirst-quenching soulfulness
You can immerse yourself
and feel your movements deepen.
There is no need
to be shallow,
no need
to hold yourself back
Feel the full stroke,
the powerful surge
of being the beloved
of the infinite.
This is where you hit your stride,
this is you, living.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 18, 2018