The unpredicted sun
presiding over fragrant spring
is tender toward the youthful leaves,
bathing them in incandescent brilliance
The air still holds coolness
except for where there’s neither wind nor shade —
Most of the day is dancing
in the freshness of the soft north wind
There is no hint here
of tomorrow’s showers —
It’s hard to prepare
for what seems so unlikely —
surely this perfect blue
will last forever
©Wendy Mulhern
May 20, 2015
So I kept looking back at my email
and my website
to see if anyone had said
“You are wonderful”
(in a specific way that showed
the words had substance)
even though I knew
it was ridiculous to.
At the store earlier
I was grateful
for everyone I had to wait for,
everyone who gave me the chance
to make space for them,
to give them room
in my thought
to reveal themselves
in their unique, bright glory —
it was the least I could do.
Perhaps it’s best for me
to get no feedback
lest I be wrongly trained
to keep returning to that site
like a once-fed raccoon
pawing, ever after
at the back door.
©Wendy Mulhern
May 18, 2015
So many people go through life
without ever having written a symphony,
without ever doing a cartwheel,
without ever knowing what it feels like
to be free
So many people (or so it’s said)
have never known true love,
have never felt the exaltation
of the egoless willingness
to be a blessing
and having that fulfilled
People go through life
buying expectations for themselves
from the shelves of sanctioned social options,
wearing them, though they don’t fit,
eating them, though they don’t nourish,
hardly noticing the pressure of the light within
as it attempts to free itself and shine
But by and by
the light will win,
spill out of some chink,
overwhelm them
as it bursts forth
revealing all the vastness of their being
where they don’t go through life —
they really live.
©Wendy Mulhern
May 14, 2014
What kind of day is it
that can be summed up as
“Well, I got through that”?
Yes, the relief feels good
and there’s accomplishment involved,
But what’s that good for?
Can’t I do better?
When I play things back
along the light lines,
the words and smiles exchanged with strangers
and the bright threads
of continuing connection
flashing up again
in conversations with family and friends
I see there’s been more
than needful duty,
more than the dull familiarity
of other bodies as we all are herded,
more than the sub-thought comfort
of trodden pathways —
this day, too
has had its worth.
©Wendy Mulhern
May 12, 2015
Overlapping images of dreams
shimmer like rippling scales
in the backdrop of my mind.
Some have words and laughter,
some shift into each other
bringing up absurdities
It’s easy enough
to stay here entertained
and not get up
though duties nudge dully
at the borders of my thoughts
Each of these images
could tell a whole story,
lead me on a whole journey
if I just let myself
(for just a little longer)
slip under.
©Wendy Mulhern
May 11, 2015
I don’t know why I sat there
and fed myself footage
of tsunamis, and police brutality,
and travesties of justice,
don’t know why I kept watching
when up till then my day had been
so positive
I don’t know why I then got impatient
and wrote a note that brought a bad reaction,
don’t know why I seem to want
to escalate it
I will refrain. I will
take myself to bed. I will
wait until morning. Maybe
by then the flood waters
will have subsided
and I’ll see a clear path.
©Wendy Mulhern
April 9, 2015
When you’re caught in the web
and nothing makes sense
and all your moves to free yourself
just render you more tangled
You can always go within,
sink like a stone
in the gravity
of all you care about —
fall densely and deeply
into the knowing
of your essence,
the rock from whence you were hewn
When the weight of the world
holds you pinned and immobile,
inertia bearing down upon
your every motivation,
You can always reach out
and float like a feather
in the infinite affection
that holds you so tender,
your every breath
responded to
in the sweet song of being,
crooned now so softly
for you.
©Wendy Mulhern
March 30, 2015
Strong wind from the south.
The sky has angels in it —
broad wings stretched out
against the fervent blue
bearing word of change
The water speaks of sun and cloud —
silver sparkle, metal gray,
Small children play at lake side,
my tears just out of range
The girl plays with her dad,
the boy plays alone.
They want to play together
but can’t quite make it happen
I help myself to some of their longing
while warm wind intermittently
brings the scent of blossoms
Cormorants and gulls
sit out on pilings,
Some gulls fly low
playing knock-you-off,
Coots float in flotillas
bobbing in the waves
This day, and what will save it
fade in and out like wind and sun
taking their time
before tomorrow’s rain.
©Wendy Mulhern
March 27, 2015
We are stealing away,
feeling the need to be quiet
lest our escape, somehow, be arrested
We are not talking about
the wasteland we are walking out of,
not yet. Not till we are safe
on the other side
We have seen many things —
Things that were not hidden, really,
but we just couldn’t see them
without a reference point
Now that those points
have come into focus
we are going, as fast as we can,
Less fleeing than walking rapidly
towards our destination,
to that safe haven
where we can be real.
©Wendy Mulhern
March 21, 2015
I’ve come to where I thought was home,
five hours along the interstate, one afternoon —
Electric lights, and lights of our belonging
circle, not quite settled, in my mind
It feels like parts of us
that should be home
are not yet here —
Points of future that our thoughts took flight on,
Points of intention waiting to be filled,
Points of departure for our next adventure
not finding stillness in this quiet house
We need a bigger circle,
one that holds these all,
to lasso all these points of thought
and bring them home,
to focus them in unity
and make them strong
enough to hold the weight
of our endeavor.
©Wendy Mulhern
March 15, 2015