Hi! I've been on a long hiatus from my blog, as I've been helping my mom recover from an illness. It was a blessing to spend time with her and give her support. She is a beautiful poem to me and becoming sweeter with the years, a strong women of kindness, joy, and gracious generosity. You'll find a poem about her in my book, Star Kissed Shadows, as well as a photo of her and me.
"The Poetry Prescription"
Sarah Ban Brethnach writes about "The Poetry Prescription" in her book, Simple Abundance, A Daybook of Comfort and Joy. In a 1925 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine she found a remedy for weariness called "The Poetry Cure." "It suggested that when we are frazzled, ruminating on a line or stanza of poetry can induce a sense of serenity. This lead Sarah to a "marvelous form of meditation", especially if she doesn't think she has twenty minutes to sit down or take a walk. She tells us, "When we allow poetry to slip slowly beneath the sinews of our conscious mind, connection to our authentic selves becomes simpler; an emotion or an experience is captured in evocative word melodies that bestow harmony on everyday encounters. Rita Dove believes that poetry has the ability to restore a 'sense of mystery, a sense of wonder' to our daily round."
Sarah suggests that we read a poem a day and write a favorite verse on a card and memorize it. She loves to meditate on a line just before drifting off to sleep. A woman bought my book Star Kissed Shadows to read a poem to her sweetie before bed each night. Star Kissed Shadows can also be used as a divining tool by opening up to a poem at random, either with a question in mind or open to a message from Spirit. Kay Hogan says, "I often pick up Star Kissed Shadows and with eyes shut and intuition open, turn to a page that always speaks to the moment, to the question of my heart. This is a book to carry around with you, to leave by your bed, or keep on your desk. Her poems remind us that we can have a life fully lived.” Kay Hogan, Seminar Leader
Sarah also suggests that we attend poetry readings and trust that we will discover, as did Anzia Yezierska, that "The real thing creates its own poetry."
I find that reading poetry invites my muse, and I become inspired to write my own poems. I encourage you to bring poetry into your life for the pure joy of it.
Alphabet Soup
My intuitive whiskers sense ideas
in the soft air of morning.
I sigh as feathery breezes skim over me.
Words slip on buttery sun
through an open kitchen window
into the empty bowl I’ve placed
for my muse to fill.
I lap up letter cream with a felicitous tongue.
L’s and m’s loll and hum between my lips.
Piquant p’s tantalize taste buds.
R’s roll on my palette, stop against artful t’s.
Juicy n’s slide down my moist throat.
Satiated, I purr, curl up in the lap of God.
©2004 Star Kissed Shadows, Divining Poetry, Sher Lianne Christian
