Posts Tagged With: breathe

Falling

I.

It seems this year

More than ever

The fall colors are

Astounding me

They call me

To stop 

 Breathe deeper

Slower

Let my burdens fall

I drove up a winding road

Under a canopy 

Of fall foliage 

It felt like a giant hug

An invitation to joy

My heart rejoiced

II.

Walking in the woods today

The maple trees ablaze

Letting go 

Leaf by leaf

Fluttering and falling

To join the ever growing piles

Dampened by the rain 

That my tears

My sorrows 

My loss and grief 

One by one

Would softly fall away

Like the maple leaves

To Become mulchy piles

To feed proceeding generations

© Julie Clark 2021

Categories: Autumn Poems, beauty, Poetry, Seasons, Trees | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Breathe

(This poem written in this intersection of time where people are dying from Covid 19 and dying from police brutality. They can’t breathe.)

Breathe deep

When we can

Because we can.

Remember where our breath comes from

Give thanks.

Remember those

Who cannot breathe.

Remember those

Whose breath has been taken.

Take action

When we can

Because we can.

Categories: Faith, grief and death, lament, Poetry, Prayer | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Haiku Practice

 

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Self Examination

 

Heart weigh and dissect

Examine content with care

Cold stone or warm love

 

Breathe

 

Can peace rule my day

Or worry fret it away

A deep breath will help

 

Deciduous

 

Trees finish their work

Shedding of best future hopes

Are we listening

 

© Julie Clark

 

Categories: Autumn Poems, beauty, Hope, Poetry, Seasons, Trees | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Equilibrium

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Every now and again

Life circumstances line up

A great wall of water

A perfect storm

That knocks you down

And carries you away

You and the balls

You have  been juggling

Faith, hope, and love

 

Now amidst all the wreckage

You find a way to stand up

And breathe

You start your search

Looking for those balls

To throw into play again

Without them you

Really can’t live

For very long

© 2017 Julie Clark

 

 

 

Categories: Faith, God, Hope, Lent, Life, Love, Paths, Poetry, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ask the question

Love Grows

When the seams of life unravel

When fog blurs vision

The way forward is obscured

When positions are hardened

Anger flares

Resolution and reconciliation

Seem millions of miles away

Remember

The greatest of all is love

It is the pulse that runs the universe

Slow down and listen

Feel it running through

Your veins

Ask the question –

What does love look like?

Give imagination free reign

Wait for your thoughts to form

Then get ready

Bring a friend, sister or brother

Go do that good

You are inspired to do.

© 2017 Julie Clark

 

Be Your Best

Be your best

Come alive

Breathe in life

Inspire me

With your love

With your courage

Be your best

Find a way

Show the way

I will follow

Be my best

Together we

Sow the seeds

Of love and courage

© 2017 Julie Clark

Categories: Faith, growth, Hope, Life, Love, Paths, Peace and Reconciliation, Poetry, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Breaking

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This world is breaking

My heart

I can hardly breathe

Let alone write a poem

Something with a message

Pointing toward hope

 

This world is breaking

My heart

Not the first time,

Not the last

I am not the only one

Most are in anguish

 

This world is breaking

My heart

Who can we turn to

Who has words of life

Who has love

Stronger than death

 

© 2016 Julie Clark

Categories: Faith, Hope, Life, Love, pain, Poetry, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Recommendation

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Muster up your strength

gather your wits

grab a bike

hop a bus

catch the ferry

book a flight

or just put on

your shoes

follow the signs

and get out-of-town

 

It’ll do you a world of good

to slow down

change your point of view

breathe some fresh air

hear the wind in the trees

or the call of the gulls

 

Stop, look, and listen

 for signs and messages

take beauty personally

this is for me

I too am beloved

 

© 2015 Julie Clark

Categories: beauty, Faith, Hope, Life, Love, Poetry, Travel, Trees | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Lenten Post #4

Remain in Me

 

Keep in step

Keep in touch

Take my hand

Don’t lag behind or rush ahead

No lolly-gagging or reckless driving

Stick with Me

Close to Me

Stay connected

Abide in me

Walk with me

Every  day

Every hour

Every minute

Breathe me in

Like your breath

Breathe me out

To another

Don’t slough me off

Disregard me

Close your ears

When you get tempted

Or enticed

Don’t veer off to the left

Or the right

Take a detour

Or a short cut

Don’t get caught in an eddy

Don’t get stuck or left behind

Double your efforts

To rest in me

Fill your thoughts

With thoughts of me

Love me

I love you

Let my love flow in you

And out of you

Come back for more

There’s always more

You in me and I in you

And this is what it means

To live a life

Of prayer

 

© 2013 Julie Clark

Categories: Faith, God, Lent, Life, Love, Paths, Poetry, Prayer | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Olympics

It happened again today

As I turned the corner

That pulling up from the deep

Kind of feeling

As the view opened

And there were the Olympics

In their cold, lofty solitude

 

Calling me to breathe deeper

To listen to the silence

To acknowledge the ancient wisdom

Flowing within and without

The present

Where heaven meets earth

Is all I have

I need to recognize it

And make my home there

 

© 2012 Julie Clark

 

Categories: beauty, borderlands, Life, mountains, Poetry | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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