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Doors

Posted on by Carey S. Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT, FAAN

Let me back in

How do I get back in

He is on one knee

Holding her hand

Begging, crying

~

I don’t know she says

The door is stuck shut

It melded there

From the heat of my despair

From the warmth of one million tears

~

He knows now the harm

That he has pressed into her soul

The pain that has sealed the door shut

The violence he did not mean to harm her

And he throws himself against the door

~

Again and again

He pounds on the stuck iron

That protects her heart

That keeps her safe

And he eventually realizes

~

He realizes that he created it

The immovable door

The heavy protection around her heart

And now he must search

For a key to unhinge the lock, to swing open the door.

~

Or he must find his way back

Spend his lifetime slowly picking away

At the door with a heartfelt love

Until the metal wears thin

As thin as a veil

~

And the veil is swept away

The lovers meet again

Bound by the heart

Strengthened by the healing

Held together as one.

 

 

Rivers

Posted on by Carey S. Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT, FAAN

Last night I cried
A river of tears streaming out
This I not why I signed up for
My stance would not redoubt.
~
I didn’t ask for war and hate
Ignorance, violence, and fear
I didn’t think I would face this place
Horror and pain, year after year.
~
I tell myself, I am not depressed
Just sick and tired of it all
I am not unwell
Just suffering from the fall.
~
Each little stream
Running down the lines of my face
Create a larger river
Running into that familiar place.
~
Crying me a deep dark river
Running out of tears
Crying me a deep dark river
Over days and into years.

No Regrets

Posted on by Carey S. Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT, FAAN

He said, I have no regrets

But when the time came to finally rest

He at last admitted

This life he had chosen was far from the best.

~

He was clearly broken

Not sound and not well

But he couldn’t divulge

All of the pain in his personal hell

~

Yes was broken,
 
And he couldn’t figure out why
 
He had to go on living 
 
‘Cause there was no time left to die. 

~

No regrets

None that he could admit anyway

No regrets

No time to live another way…

~

Only time to live

He could regret another day

Only time to live

No regrets left now anyway.

Suffering

Posted on by Carey S. Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT, FAAN

A baby not meant to live

A toddler’s tiny body overcome with illness

A teen making the wrong choices

A man broken, fighting his addictions

A middle-age person, grieving his losses

An elder, lonely from the inside out

Suffering….

A child running out, unable to dodge the car

A parent striving to get their child the care they need

A mother saying goodbye to her babies

A man caught up in his own delusions

A person feeling never ending avarice

A life so shattered, the desire to end it grows

Suffering….

A fear so large that it consumes the mind

Anxiety felt deep within the gut

Spasms, tremors, constant pain

Fever so high that seizures happen

Withdrawing from addictive substances

No more answers, no more choices

Suffering….

It is the human condition

It is you, it is me

Listen to what the Buddha said

Attachment and aversion lead to suffering

Sit here now, close eyes, breathe

And accept the suffering.

Suffering….

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t

Posted on by Carey S. Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT, FAAN

Don’t ask me about infinity

Or the time we nearly died

Don’t make my mind think like that

I know now that we lied.

Don’t tell me it will all be better

That life works out that way

You know I don’t believe it

Still ain’t scared of your judgement day.

So don’t ply me with you smile

And ask me to do what’s good

Don’t let me think this is love

Or that you treat me like you should.

Don’t ask me

Cause I ain’t scared

Don’t tell me

I’ll never be prepared.

Don’t call me

I won’t answer anyway

You don’t scare me

It’s meant to end this way.

 

 

The End

Posted on by Carey S. Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT, FAAN

The deadline has come and gone

It’s over

The end of the month

The end of the challenge

The place where things come to wind down

The beginning of something new.
*

What will be your purpose in this new month?

To be kind and caring every day?

Meet the challenge of compassion toward all?

Finish the project rolling around on the floor?

Continue to live your poetry?

*

Regardless, it’s certainly over

Done, finished, complete

Whether you care or not,

It has ended

And something new shall emerge.

A Little Yoga

Posted on by Carey S. Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT, FAAN

You want healing

Take just a little yoga now.

Feel the breath

Be present.

Notice body, breath, spirit yoked together

Notice thoughts

Watch thoughts change.

Accept all of it:

The body today

The fear and pain today

The joy and pleasure today.

At the end of the hour

Or longer

Notice the release

From stress, anxiety, fear, and pain

Walk into peace, ease, and grace

And thank all beings.

Namaste.

 

 

Gratitude

Posted on by Carey S. Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT, FAAN

Open up your heart

Practice a little gratitude

All you have been blessed with

Making note will change your attitude.

A simple cup of coffee

Thanks be to all being who made it happen

A smile on a child’s face

The joy when they are laughing.

Snowflakes falling, swirling about

Cold grey skies above

Being able to play in white fluff

Skiing, skating, doing the things you love.

A job, a career

A place to work and grow

Colleagues who are kind and caring

Learning to accept and let go.

Health, wellness, and well being

Enables us to share with others

Gifts of loving kindness

Sharing wisdom passed down from ancestral mothers.

Let’s practice this all year long

And live in our place of gratitude

Let’s remember to care for self

And create those shifts in attitude.

 

 

 

Cold Snap

Posted on by Carey S. Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT, FAAN

All around her the freezing air swirled

She was certainly ready

Dressed in her winter armor

Her many layers of protection.

Yes, she could handle the cold,

The dark

The loneliness.

After some time passed, she awoke to the reality

Maybe, she wasn’t ready for how hard it would be

To see the path before her

To travel here alone

And so

Her vision became clouded by the remnants of the past.

She realized, standing in that biting, swirling cold

She had to let go.

The only way to see herself through this cold snap

Was to let go of control

And trust in all that was beyond her knowledge

The transcendent

The ineffable

The power beyond herself.

Surely, this would bring her safely through

The blinding cold snap of her life.

Gaia’s Power

Posted on by Carey S. Clark, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RYT, FAAN

We rode out the mother’s storm
Winds howling, screeching
The house moaned and groaned
We, being so fearful of being swept away,
Cried and huddled together.
Another disaster to live through
With debris all around.
But the mother she knows
She counts the toll of each indiscretion
And with every new storm
Earthquake
Fire
Hurricane
She sends the message with a roar,
Not a whisper:
Now is the time my children
To end my destruction
I am more powerful
More unpredictable
And I care not just for thee
I care for all beings
I will do whatever it takes
To wake you up
To love, peace, nature, and mystery.
If you neglect my call
The price to pay
Will be far too great to fathom.
For I am
Your mother
Your maker
The power of the blue planet
And the stardust from whence you came.
I am Gaia.
Wake now my children.
Notice this moment,
And the next,
See how everything changes
All is impermanent.
Though we trembled and quaked
We soon forgot, at least
Until the next rumblings of the earth.