Author Archives: Wendy

Heather’s birthday, 2021

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I know that time means nothing to you now,
though in your time you did enjoy your sevens,
as you enjoyed the gifts that others offered,
as you received each offering with grace

Such a fine trait it was,
how much you valued everything  –
each kindness, each expression,
the talents and the tastes of every friend –
I somehow wish
that everyone had noticed it,
that we had celebrated you
more than we did

But now that doesn’t matter either  –
I feel your generosity
grand enough to cover all of that,
grand enough, as always, to make us shine,
embrace us all and leave us feeling fine.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 7, 2021

Book Progress

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The jackets to my book finally came today  – a little difficult to work with because they came flat and I had to bend them around the book. But I am pleased with them. A couple of positional nudges (which I’ve already made and will upload tomorrow) and I think it will be ready to go. Things have been taking longer than I’ve wanted them to – I will miss Heather’s birthday for a publication date, and probably my own as well. But I feel the timing will turn out to be just right –

First Flight

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I may not yet be a fledgling
but I feel I’m being nudged  –
nudged to pry my feet out from the nest hold,
nudged to see what these wings
may be able to do

What would it be to let go
of all these dependences  –
what would it be to learn to lean
on other ones – the principles of flight,
the currents in the air,
the still untested nature
of my design?

Great parent of us all,
You who know and own
the heart of all of us –
guide me in my tiniest of hops
from branch to branch and upward,
till I find the sky.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 6, 2021

Time and Progress

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Some days, things we count on fail –
the camp stove rusts out, the showerhead
gets blocked, the jar that holds the knives
breaks at the bottom

And though we thought we had no time
for tending things, we have to stop  –
clean up glass, replace
the knife container, showerhead, and stove,
and in the pause to fix things,
life gets better

Some days I’m just happy –
the summer rhythm folds me in,
and time and progress
get a different measure.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 5, 2021

Forgiven

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It turned out that I, too,
was able to cash in the chip,
was able to fall into the thought
that transcended the problem entirely

In my mind I could see you washed clean –
not needing reform, not needing
torturous penance to pay

And none of the tokens
I may have had stashed,
none of the tallies of wrongs to be righted,
needed to be redeemed  –
they were gone  –
the great hole where they had been
was filled with light

I was silent for a long time
pondering this,
feeling the space within me
so much larger
than I ever thought I was.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 3, 2021

My Story

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Why am I always the bad guy
in your stories? I said

Who else do you see around?
you said

But why can’t I be the good guy
sometimes? Oh, I see – you’re
the good guy …

In the still space, after the laughter,
I considered  – I will only ever
see played out
what I believe to be the story  –
if the story doesn’t change,
the reason’s obvious

If I want a different story,
I must first believe it’s possible,
and then see it pre-existing,
a thing already true.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 2, 2021

Hope Returns

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The situation rights itself,
yesterday’s prognosis notwithstanding,
storms clear, light rests softly on the sea,
reflections ripple, colors pass smoothly
through each other

And hope turns out
to have always been there, its reason
as clear and solid as the rocks,
and smiles come easy,
former strain forgotten

If talk of casual lies,
of being broadly cast as enemy, 
slump into view,
don’t be dismayed –
lies can only pass as truth
before the truth is seen –
our collective witnessing of truth
will wash the story clean.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 1, 2021

Healing Waters

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River of peace
flows out from us –
be still enough to notice  –
to notice that the heat of argument
is not us, the rage
at the bland cruelty of some other side
is not us, the hot tears
at having tried so long, so hard,
and still not seeing any signs
of coming any closer
are not us

Much as all those things claim
to need our attention, what they really need
is our calm. One that extends
all the way to the bottomless
limpid clear
simple justice
of truth. One that extends from our source
and rises as it flows
and where it goes,
the land will thrive
and all the waters will be healed.

©Wendy Mulhern
June 30, 2021

In the place of dragons

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In the early perfection of the morning,
deep breathing while still half bound in sleep,
I felt the wakening hand
of what moves everything,
the easy all encompassing of harmony,
the power of waterfalls
and teeming life

And I felt that, if I had to face
the dragon’s breath again,
I would know what to say,
or not say, I would have the softening
that we brought back from the ocean  –
soothing of clouds and waves,
comfort of heads resting on shoulders  –
enough to dissipate what had threatened
to swallow us before.

©Wendy Mulhern
June 29, 2021

Love, unstoried

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I”m looking for a way to be home,
looking for a way to love that won’t fail,
seeking to wean myself from stories
of the quick flicker and mysterious arc
of love – how it can flame and crash
or just be gone

I know that love has never been like that –
when it touched into the stories,
it brought a power with it
that no story could sustain,
contain, retain, restrain –
and so I’m seeking love
outside of stories,
the love that, when they’re done,
will still remain.

©Wendy Mulhern
June 28, 2021