Encircled with Lavender and Rosemary
On this warm day
Breathing in pure fragrant air
Releasing anxiety and pressure
Pressure to be
Something I am not
Receiving peace
Healing and rest
May my fragrance be
Life giving and refreshing
To the ones
Encircled by my love today
2018 Julie Clark
When I find myself
daydreaming
about another
place to live
quiet, peaceful
clean and uncluttered
wrapped in beauty
like a multicolored scarf
from India
and start searching
the island websites
for the latest
houses on the market
I know it’s time to
rest again
to
wait
for something to change
the wind to shift its course
strength to gather in my bones
a new burst of energy
to finish a task
long calling for my attention
for thoughts to string together
to make sense of this season
for gratefulness to replace
lethargy
I’ve been told
“Strength will come
for those who wait.”
© 2015 Julie Clark
Falling into this world
I lost my union with the Holy One
Naked and alone
Insecure and afraid
If only I could shed this fear and anxiety
like the snake its skin or the trees their leaves in the fall
If only I could slough off the what ifs and worse case scenarios
forming in my thoughts as I scan the perimeters of my life and those I care for
The One called Love came to me first in a thought and then a dream
When I called his name the fear vanished and I was not alone
This One kept calling and calling and continues this day
restoring the union that was lost
Whenever the fear stalks in the night or confronts me in the day
if I but rest in the arms of this Love
I know I am clothed, safe and secure
Never alone, never abandoned
The circle complete again
(c) 2014 Julie Clark
Beloved Ones are like
a cabin in the woods
A safe place to stop
along the journey home
Warm fire of family
of being oneself
No need to cloak
my vulnerability
Or hide my face
in a mask
Feast and refresh
take the nourishment
Rest for the next leg of the road
be it stoney or steep
Another cabin will appear
a light in the window
Will beckon me
when needed most
© 2014 Julie Clark
Welcome!
Come in
I am so glad to see you
Make yourself at home
Taste a bit of heaven
Earth traveler
Here is some food
Some conversation
To strengthen your soul
And lighten your heart
Rest for the next stage
Of your journey
Here is a quiet place
To hear the whispers
Of God’s love
© 2013 Julie Clark
I am in the middle
Of a long walk
With God
A journey
A pilgrimage
From those ahead
I receive these assurances
“Yes, it gets
Sweeter and sweeter
His face
Becomes clearer
His love
Thickens the air”
I have already
Tasted
That thickened air
And I give those same
Assurances
Back down the path
Behind me
A few warnings as well
Watch that curve
Slow down and rest
I have crashed right there
And stay clear of that
Mud hole
I was stuck there for a while
Don’t give up
It’s worth the climb
Green pastures
And still waters up here
The view is spectacular
The air is sweet
© 2013 Julie Clark
I.
Is there room in my heart
For the ones excluded, tossed out, forbidden to enter?
Can I scoot over
Just a bit, move my junk
So another can lie down and rest
For awhile
Until it is safe again to venture out?
It’s a stretch
I like my privacy
My quiet my space
I’m tired and weary
But they more so.
II.
So here I am
Trying to live the life
I believe in
Yet, struggling to do so
Something in me
Just wants to be left alone
To be quiet
To have some space
To get well and strong again.
But there are too many
Who have far less
Peace than I
Who need something
That I have plenty of.
Can I just share and be glad
Because I know it is all worth the while
To give away my extra
To another
Somehow it multiplies
And I end up with more
Than I had to start with
With joy beaming on top
Like a shiny red
Cherry smiling
From a hot fudge
Sunday.
© 2012 Julie Clark
Snow Day
I listen to the soft crush of snow under my boots.
The snow muffled quiet brings a much-needed peace to the frantic city pace.
Enforced rest by steep, frozen roads is a hidden reprieve to many.
Why does it take an act of nature to teach us to be still?
Why do we shun silence and rest?
Are we afraid if we stop, our world will fall apart?
Are we afraid if we stop, our long ignored feelings and thoughts will rise in rebellion once we have slackened control of them?
It is like long ago we stepped onto a merry-go-round in the park.
At first it slowly turned, but with each revolution it gained speed until now it is moving so fast we can’t get off.
What is this hidden hand, pushing us at this frantic, out of control, speed?
The snow day reminds us:
We can get off the merry-go-round,
And our world won’t fall apart.
Rest will help our minds and bodies work better.
Letting go of control is good for us. We really can’t control everything anyways.
Maybe our suppressed emotions have something to say to us, need our attention.
Maybe we won’t die if we listen to them and deal with them.
There is a good chance we will find healing.
© 2010 Julie Clark
The Great Exchange
You want this?
In your light I see
what I thought was good
To be full of holes
Like a worn out cloth
Hanging from the line.
You want this?
And what is this you offer in exchange?
A radiant purity that I cannot achieve.
A gift you say?
But I cannot release my filthy rags
Unless I move from my smug self-centeredness
To the center of that red-hot core
Called love.
How is this possible?
I will die at that core.
Yes, and live again,
Twice born.
Clothed in that radiant purity
You attained for me.
© 2007 Julie Clark
Fear
Fear has stocked me from childhood.
Like a restless tiger, it waits to pounce on its tired prey.
I’m done with it.
Realizing any fear leads back to the fear of death.
What’s so bad about dying?
It’s the only way out of here at present.
Out of here and into there.
Not that I want to rush things.
But in my time I to will follow my ancestors and every other man, woman and child before me.
I am facing that tiger and saying, my life is in stronger hands than yours.
I believe
I am beloved
And that Love that loves me is stronger than death.
© 2010 Julie Clark
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