Author Archives: Wendy

Upward

Posted on by
Reply

upward2

Peace, child, peace —
There is more to sustain you
along this rugged trail
than in all the idleness
you left behind,

Here’s where the bracing air
sends strength throughout your being,
Here’s where the stretch of limbs
keeps you awake,
Here’s where the challenge and surprise
of each unfolding view
calls forth your fortitude

Your peace is portable —
It can go with you as you walk,
It can embrace
the pace, the constant changes,
and the deepening of courage
as you, with mounting stamina,
forge your grace.

©Wendy Mulhern
April 30, 2014

The Authority of Dandelions

Posted on by
Reply

dandelions4

You unfold
Rugged in the sun —
You were not pampered,
You are not celebrated,
But your certainty of presence
is felt
in the confident, bitter tang
of your leaves
and the shiny split curve
of your stem,
and all those seeds you have prepared
in tender softness
for their skyward flight.

©Wendy Mulhern
April 29, 2014

 

Divine Approval

Posted on by
Reply

Approval

Every toenail, every finger,
every hope, each deep desire,
every tendril of your being
reaching out for lower, higher

Every way you’ve always wished
that you could be received,
Every gift in you
you wanted someone to believe,
All the efforts you have made
to find your tribal home,
All the work you did
while wishing not to be alone

These things all meet
with heaven-sweet, divine approval —
You are loved
from the deep core of who you are,
You’ve never stepped beyond the glow
of Love’s unceasing care,
So it must glow in you,
and where you go,
it meets you there.

©Wendy Mulhern
April 27, 2014

Timing

Posted on by
Reply

timing

The accolade came to her
twenty years late —
making the memories,
buried and filed away,
shift in their places, resettle

It was a strange feeling —
pleasure to hear it
but also an emptiness —
whistle of echoes
down so many changes
(children grown up in that time)

But she felt it was fitting
to hear of it now,
after she’d traveled
through all those long valleys,
after surrendering so many layers
of thoughts about herself,
In this moment
of owning her power,
pulling it in to herself,
Standing up.

©Wendy Mulhern
April 25, 2014

To a Brave Cat

Posted on by
Reply

Sunny, your spirit
is ever true —
There never was a wound,
no abyss to which your questing heart
could wander,
no way to fall

The unblinking Love
that shines you ever forth
has never ceased
So you remain untouched,
ever renewed
in active peace

And this is your true time,
for you can show your dear soul friend
how you are held,
You can give her courage
and let her know
that she, in all her time
of being here
has always owned her name
and she can see you whole
and know that she
is ever held the same.

©Wendy Mulhern
April 24, 2014

In the Works

Posted on by
1

Coming out soon! My sixth poetry book:

Being One, Being Two coverpic

Being One, Being Two contains two collections of poetry. The first collection, Being One—love poems for community, is an extension of the exploration begun in Infinite Permission—a healing journey home. Infinite Permission chronicles the author’s journey to personal wholeness and grace; Being One is about the learning of wholeness and grace with regard to community — the practice of open-hearted love. Being Two—love poems of an enduring partnership is an extension of the topic of Capture Rapture—notes from the romance adventure. It offers glimpses into the author’s thirty-plus year relationship with her husband, with the deepening intimacy and trust that comes from a long-term commitment. Both Being One and Being Two illustrate the life-giving power of love.

 Also coming soon — my first novel: Muse — Book design courtesy of my daughter Heather:

Musecoverhands3 copy

Melissa and Aaron, geeky, innocent, and introverted, independently invoke muses to help them navigate the puzzling world of career, identity, and relationships. When they meet in an acrylics class, Melissa notices that Aaron resembles the muse she conjured writing a poem—the muse that led her to take the class. Aaron, exploring his tortured internal landscape, keeps seeing Melissa there. As they strive to follow their own muses, they wonder, more and more, what that might mean with regard to each other.

 

 

And somewhat remotely in the works:

I Will Dance — a spiritual journey

Throughout human existence, dance has been an essential expression – of self, of community, of spirit.  In our modern world, dance has come to mean several very different things — an art form for spectators to view; a dating activity; a venue of competition.  But its elemental nature, bringing out the human spirit and bringing us together, can still be found in some places.  These poems outline the author’s experience of dance as a vehicle for spiritual liberation —a way to become free of inhibitions and to become connected, through music, to the harmony of the universe and the common beating of hearts.

 

Intention

Posted on by
2

beach road trail2

You’re on the path, she said.
That proves that you will meet your goal
As surely as the bike path goes
along the water, from Oak Bluffs
to Edgartown. You can be certain,
as soon as you have turned that corner
(past the town and the wide green park)
that you will get there

For that’s the strength
of your intention
and your work will deliver you,
steady as pedals,
sure as the asphalt trail
to where it’s clear
you want to go.

©Wendy Mulhern
April 23, 2014

A Meditation

Posted on by
Reply

You close your eyes
and lean
into the strong broad back
of that which loves you

It’s too delightful, for a time,
for you to sleep —
You pull the warmth
into all the corners
of your being
while the soft fresh air
cools your edges

And it’s so exquisite,
all you want to do
is breathe,
absorb this present
as cats absorb the sun,
feel how alive you are
and how blessed.

©Wendy Mulhern
April 21, 2014