When I have been in darkest pain
Feeling I could not hope again
Love showed up.
When I felt lost and overwhelmed
Riding grief on a boat unhelmed
Love showed up.
When I’d thought my demon’s vanquished
But they roared to life, causing anguish
Love showed up.
It didn’t try to change my pain
But gently whispered, “Try again.”
Love showed up.
It didn’t try to change my trouble
It helped me to clean up the rubble
Love showed up.
It helped me navigate which way to travel
Clothing myself in threads unraveled
Love showed up.
Its compass pointed to my true north
Showing me how to sally forth
Love showed up.
It walked beside me on meandering paths
Teaching forgiveness for my past
Love showed up.
Category Archives: Poetry
Widow’s Peak
She desires to be a widow
so bad that she can taste it
The casseroles and condolences
With open arms embraced it
She wears no widow’s weed
Nor tithed the widow’s Mite
With crocodile tears in her eyes
Their mourning her spotlight
When the flowers have all wilted
And the calls have all but eased
Will she then be grateful
That it was he deceased?
Note: This isn’t written about anyone in particular. It’s a what if.
Pass it onward!
Delusional
The devil came to my door
He rang the bell and cried
He lied that I was once adored
His chest puffed out with pride
His deception blackly oozed because
There is blood upon his hands
By his nature he’s embodied faux pas
In his hollowed-out grandstand
Convinced there is an audience
Still, he bows his head to pray
“No.” is nothing obvious
I refuse him the time of day
He invades my home with anger
Grief that should have long been spent
His recklessness is dangerous
But he simply won’t relent
His wounds are dark and oozing
His heart is arctic cold
He reminds me that he thinks of me
At least that’s what I’m told
His prayers remain unanswered
He leans on crutch and wit
His aura is all cancered
No blame will he remit
Pass it onward!
The Ashes of Nobody
The ashes of nobodies
(No bodies?)
Are in a mausoleum
Placed on a shelf
Without ceremony
As if life repeats itself in death
Held without specific honor
No proof of ancestry
Tracing roots back to the dust
They’ve returned to
without a name or with
unknown cause or suppos-ed
forgotten or lost
As if life repeats itself in death
No words to dress them in Saint’s clothes
A hurried end without recompense
Humbly offered words of worth
They did exist here on earth
They dreamed the dreams of all of us
But the shelter line was drawn too high
The cracks they fell into, too deep
As if life repeats itself in death
Pass it onward!
Lost Religion
There is a Spirit in the soil
The place where life begins
and to where it again returns
You have to run up to the very edge
of your very own grave
to understand how deeply
your Spirit’s truth can go
How connected we all are
as transient souls;
seperate but one
The Spirit calls out to us every moment
rarely is it heard as the truth
Destructive forces we are against it
We are poor stewards of our gift
our home, our residence, our church
Pass it onward!
Apology
I’m asking for an apology
one I know I’ll never get
for every time you hurt me
for each of these regrets.
For every neglectful incident
for refusal to pull emotional weight
for your bitter anger towards me
for which I took the bait
For the disturbing blackmail
that you forced on me to pay
with the difference between want and need
being thrown up in my face
Pass it onward!
Intimate Brain
Repeatedly she kissed my hand
hugged my arm close to her body
She apologized not with “I’m sorry,”
but repeatedly with “I love you.”
Her eyes met mine briefly
with the woman she once was
vanished in a blink which, again,
began her litany of obsession.
What I witnessed, what I felt, what I learned,
wasn’t enough to ease her anxiety
her frustration and anger
even if she doesn’t quite understand why.
“I love you. I love you. I love you.”
“I love you too, dear one.”
I truly do. I fell in love with my new friend
Brain intimate with momentary lucidity
She smiled sunshine towards me despite her clouds
I promised to carry her love with me
Pass it onward!
Because I LOVE You
Transformation
Because I LOVE you
The revolution begins
Not with violence
But in the most sacred part of a living being
A shift in belief
A consideration of possibilities
A seed planted in the right conditions
An adventure and adaptation
A surrender to truth
A conspiracy of hope.
Equity
Because I LOVE you
When the “them” become we
When there is celebration in diversity
When homogenization is frowned upon
When being different is cherished
When others become us
When we walk ten miles beside them
When we seek to share our spirits
Without fear, without repercussions
When balance is restored to all living beings
Plurality
Because I LOVE you
You can bow your head
Covered or uncovered
You can walk holy halls
With shoes or without
You can pray all day
Or not at all
You can profess your faith
Or you can remain silent
You can go to church
Or you can stay at home
Justice
Because I LOVE you
I will protect you to the best of my ability
I will see you as the human you are
I will not convert you or force feed you
I will be quiet, so your voice is heard
I will walk beside you and stand behind you
I will support your righteous cause
I will encourage your truth
I will honor the authority over your personal autonomy
Generosity
Because I LOVE you
When you are overwhelmed and crying
I will bring comfort and compassion
When you are hungry
I will feed your spirit and your belly
When you are sick or weak
I will spoon feed you broth or lend you my strength
When your heart is heavy with grief
I will give you a haven to wade into the depths
When you are in need of a hand up
I will give what I can, when I can, as often as I can
Interdependence
Because I LOVE you
You are me.
I am you.
No matter which faces you see when you pray
No matter how you show up
No matter what, you are my kin
My blood is filled with your laughter and tears
You may not understand,
But know that I hold no judgment on your heart
I don’t know your hardships or happiness
But I know that you are LOVEd exactly as you are
Despite of and because of everything that makes you, YOU.
I am a Unitarian Universalist
“Because I LOVE you and I obey the Law of LOVE.”
Pass it onward!
Just Shy
Not a shrinking violet
Or scared to use her voice
Like a maestro with an instrument
She delivered courageous joy
Dire situations didn’t daunt her
A guidon in a hurricane
although the grim did haunt her
Fear forgot her name
Pass it onward!
Approaching Senior
I am too old to be considered youthful
Yet, I’m a child, still wet-behind-the-ears
I’ve lived a life precariously truthful
But still, I’ve yet to see all of my years.
I have been as close to death as dust
But I still don’t know it by its common name
I have gifted dirges to those I’ve loved
A place in my heart they’ve claimed
If I’m blessed to live an entire century,
I hope that I won’t sit alone by the window
Waiting for those I love to learn too late they love me.
I’d languish for their amity, my companion, my shadow
There is a certain reverence to a life lived unfurled
The spiral tapestries of the lessons learned
Woven back upon itself briefly, beautifully curled
Love and joy have always been the life for which I’ve yearned
Mare Martell 