Heart Speak
April 2006 Collection
Poetry, Prose and
Artwork
Inside Out
©Original Collection
by
7 Little
21532
301-784-5121
All proceeds
benefit the Heart Speak Scholarship Fund, Allegany College of Maryland
Foundation
Heart Speak
April 2006 Collection
Poetry, Prose and
Artwork
Inside Out
By
Donna Walbert
Table of Contents
Table of Illustrations............................................................................................
4
Acknowledgements.................................................................................................
5
Introduction...............................................................................................................
6
traveler.........................................................................................................................
7
Travelers
Anecdote 1..........................................................................................
8
Traveler’s
Anecdote 2.........................................................................................
9
Who
Came to Paris?.............................................................................................
10
HAIKU
in paris...........................................................................................................
11
Labyrinth.....................................................................................................................
18
Labyrinth
Haiku...................................................................................................
19
Sole
to Soul............................................................................................................
20
inside
out....................................................................................................................
21
In
the Shower.........................................................................................................
22
Room
for Doubt....................................................................................................
23
Voice
of the Moon...............................................................................................
24
essay...............................................................................................................................
25
For
Whom Are Miracles Reserved?..............................................................
26
Table of Illustrations
Floral Collage (Iris and Tea Roses, Poinsettia, Sisterhood, Orange Roses)............... Front Cover
Sunset
at 39,000 Feet................................................................................... 8
Winter
Solstice.............................................................................................. 9
Enough......................................................................................................... 12
Bridge
at Giverny........................................................................................ 14
Le
Jardin de Palais Royale.......................................................................... 14
Tuilleries
Iris................................................................................................ 14
Untitled........................................................................................................ 15
Mother
Earth............................................................................................... 15
When
Turtles Fly.......................................................................................... 16
Steps
of Sacré Coeur................................................................................... 17
Consecrated
Place....................................................................................... 19
In.................................................................................................................. 23
Moonshine.................................................................................................... 24
Opera
Moment............................................................................................. 27
Full
of Grace poster.............................................................................. Back
Cover
Acknowledgments
As I carry on, continued gratitude and love is expressed to my family and friends for their encouragement. It is their constant presence that fuels my being for daily challenges. I am reminded each day that “we are in this together” and that we find meaning in this life by supporting each other. I am blest by their love.
I want to express ongoing thanks to Dr. Jack Shreve, Professor of Humanities at Allegany College of Maryland, who serves tirelessly as my mentor and friend. He encourages and inspires me to continue to put pen to paper.
Special thanks to Robyn Price for getting me started with my art. I am grateful for her encouragement to actually show my work to anyone. The Hazen Gallery exhibits were her idea. The exhibits laid the foundation for the Heart Speak Scholarship. We continue to raise money which funds the scholarships through the annual Heart Speak exhibit. Robyn gave me the confidence to pursue my vision and the courage to be open. Robyn’s creative talents resulted in the Floral Collage design for our poster this year.
Special gratitude goes to Linda Kohut, my friend and fellow writer, who lends her creative eye and editorial expertise to these collections each year.
I especially appreciate the
cooperation and expert work of
A special thanks to David Jones for his flexibility and administration of the Heart Speak Scholarship. Through his collaboration and support we are able to continue the work of giving.
Introduction
Each of us has life to live only one day at a time. This is an obvious statement; it is profound if one takes a moment to ponder the thought. I never gave much consideration to this notion in the past. Perhaps like me, you may never have pondered the amazing gift of each day. The reality is we have no guarantees of tomorrow; we have just the present moment. So as life passes unnoticed, minute by minute, many of we are tourists. We are whisked about to the next activity, amused and engaged in everyday living, but we may not be enthralled by life.
For some of us, that changes. The precious miracle of the moment is plopped square in our laps when the distinct possibility that life will end, sooner than later, becomes the harsh reality. When realization of mortality happens, each day is transformed into a main attraction, not simply the next activity. Each day unfolds as its own little eternity neatly packaged in twenty-four priceless hours. In this transience mode, daily life becomes more than busy; it becomes captivating. We finally become spellbound travelers, and the peaks and the valleys of living become equally fascinating. The focus of the journey turns inward and this perspective transforms the real world into only a mesmerizing stopover in a much larger expedition.
I have finally become a traveler, charmed by the moment and enchanted one day at a time on this unknown voyage. I am curious and inquisitive. I endeavor to explore the ups and downs of my reality from all angles, from the inside out, so to speak. I hope you enjoy this new Heart Speak collection of poetry, prose and artwork . . . it is an ongoing glimpse into my inside out journey these days.
April 2006
traveler
Travelers Anecdote 1
“
Traveler’s Anecdote 2
As I drew the
airplane window shade upward to glimpse the night,
the Man in the Moon winked.
His face and our plane shared the suspended space between heaven and
earth. Bathed in moonshine and
sanctioned in the blink of an eye, our dreams carried us to
Who Came to Paris?
Who shall I say came to in
Was it the dreamer child
With “April in
Or could it be the shy teenager
Destined to find grace and sophistication
Away from ancestral hills?
Or was it the young nurse
Eager to experience and heal everyone?
Perhaps it was the young woman
With peaked sensuality
Ready for intercourse with an exotic world.
I wonder if the middle-aged woman
Came to convince herself
That she could still embrace life
After monumental challenge.
Or was it the “early senior”
Looking for ways to recapture youth?
Did tomorrow’s elderly woman, on cane,
Come to seek more wisdom
And deepening of spirit to pass along
To the long-awaited grandchild on the way?
Which of these came to
Finding what they needed
Needing what they found.
All came to
And I bought the ticket.
HAIKU
in paris
Memories of being old,
Recollections now
Of tomorrows yet to come.
Cobblestones beneath my feet
Whisper yesterday’s
Tomorrow loudly today.
Teaching me how to waste time
Hoarding moments now
Memory’s purpose fulfilled.
City of love casts its spell
Young hearts all around
Age indistinguishable.
Divined perception bestowed
Eternity now
Lovers infinite bequest.
Savoring day’s portion
Slower steps swallow,
Digesting time so easy.
Expecting nothing today
Rarest of graces
Full moment’s abundance flows.
Free to become anyone,
Animosity,
Travelers brilliant disguise.
Lost in every moment now
Finding more of me
All the while in plain full view.
Courage walks with folding cane
Amid those without
Fear trampled down with each step.
Traveling to meet strangers
Finding myself there
Meeting again the first time.
Labyrinth
Labyrinth
Haiku
Bring me to myself,
Reverently, slowly, come,
Renewal awaits.
Sole to Soul
From wooded vale
the ancient symbol
emerges,
as a beacon
to sacred journey.
Open intention,
fare for consecrated voyage.
Sole to sole the walk begins,
Inward, reverently, slowly.
until feet and mind
no longer each other need.
Sole to soul steps,
Subtle.
Next, to next, to the next,
Forgotten feet carried
on thoughts
of troubles,
then healing,
then peace,
then contentment.
Forward and back
Rhythmically
to the center.
Hypnotized,
Grounded,
Centered,
Enfolded,
Embraced.
Sole to soul.
Path to the still
Sacred within.
Solefully,
Then Soulfully,
Then solefully back again.
Return to the beginning
Where passage ends,
Sole to soul to sole.
Dedicated those who use the Community
Serenity Garden and Labyrinth at Allegany College of Maryland
inside
out
In the Shower
Faucets turn on,
Warm,
Steamy,
Wet,
Soaking,
Drenching,
Moisture flows forth,
Gush,
Torrent,
Humid,
Downpour,
Surges,
Flooding the bathtub,
Cleansing,
Purification,
Revitalizes body,
Restores spirit,
Clears head,
I do my best crying
In the shower.
Room for Doubt
Curious space,
That gap
Between hope and faith.
Where expectation
Can’t yet
Be confidence.
Anticipation
Barely misses assurance.
Wishing falls short
Of belief.
Optimism fails
Being devotion.
Trust flops
Just shy of reliance.
Wishing, not quite
Conviction,
Disappears into
Almost sureness.
Place of torment,
Calm’s crack,
Tranquility’s tear,
Anguish’s address,
Misery’s milieu,
Despair’s digs,
Room for doubt.
Voice of the Moon
Speak nightly, of infinity
Distant substantiation,
Creator’s thumbprint,
Speak to mortals in demise
Who count tomorrows on one hand
And hope for your time on the other.
Speak, night by night, of eternity,
Immortal countenance,
Endless portrait,
Speak to earth’s weary,
Who search for increasing wholeness
But find you lit slice by slice.
Speak, every night, of perpetuity,
Continuous corroborator,
Visual voice,
Speak testimony to the miserable
Of a place to be balanced
Effortlessly suspended like you.
Speak, tonight, of home,
Kind face,
Poised proof,
Speak to the faithless
Of the new celestial address,
Speak, voice of
the moon.
essay
For Whom Are Miracles Reserved?
These past six years, while experiencing my own suffering, I find my thoughts constantly seeking an explanation for suffering. Why does it seem to eke its way into every human existence in some form or another? Why does it seem to be a basic ingredient of life? Why does it define reality for human beings with as much certainty as the oxygen we need to breathe? What purpose does it serve? Why must we experience it? Who does it benefit? How do we find meaning in it? When will it end? So again I find myself pondering with intense focus on the who, what, when, where, why and how of suffering. This renewed quest seeks to quiet my disturbed soul when I look into the distressed face of my loved one whose long suffering continues and escalates without much hope of any possible intervention, short of a miracle.
Pain, anguish, distress, misery, agony, torment, and affliction all conjure the same notion and all seem to evoke more questions and responses from me: “What a waste...no one deserves this...for whom are miracles reserved?” My mind and body react vehemently. My soul is disturbed. And so this mystery of suffering brings me full circle to more questions. Questions flood my mind and force me to look deeper into myself for answers only to find that the answers, like miracles, seem reserved for someone else. Questions, only questions, emerge from this expedition.
So the journey with further query brings me closer to my belief. What if suffering’s purpose is as simple as being a tool to help us discover our spirit? What if this perceived scourge were nothing short of a vehicle to our innermost self? What if, when left with suffering, we have only one place to go and that is beyond our human selves into something greater. What if, without suffering, our humanity, wrapped in a frail, mortal body and mind, were the beginning and end of our existence? What if suffering allowed us to sift everything extraneous from our human existence and prepare us for our spirit? What if suffering used our minds and bodies as a means to allow us to discover our spirit? What if in suffering we benefit by becoming more? What if suffering brought us home to our most exquisite selves without human limitations? What if suffering were an introduction to our Spirit, with a capital “S”? What if suffering is as essential to everyone as the air we breathe? What if suffering ends when we find its meaning by acceptance? What if suffering IS the miracle?”
This I have come to believe...that suffering is not a waste, that we are all, without exception, deserving of the opportunity it brings. And finally, that this mysterious miracle is reserved for each and every one of us.
