I have pleaded my willingness
many times before, so it seems dubious
to hear myself say no — now I’m serious,
as if at all those other times I wasn’t
Still I’m asking once again —
I really need to understand
the Valley of Bones,
“it shall be well”
I’ve said the words but thought the facts were final —
that what has died is fully dead and gone,
but here I am, daughter of man,
and I say “Lord, thou knowest” —
show me where to look to see Your truth.
©Wendy Mulhern
July 24, 2018
Let me be a kingdom unto myself,
a kingdom within, a well, a spring,
a law establishing the truth
of all my eyes can see
Let my kingdom rule me absolutely,
and let it offer sanctuary
to all who flee their demons,
to all who come here hoping to be seen
This kingdom of the inner infinite
has room enough
to shelter those who enter by the door,
to nourish what we are and bring it forth.
©Wendy Mulhern
July 21, 2018
Open all the doors,
the cupboards, too,
and let the light flood in
And if there is clutter,
I will get rid of it,
cobwebs, I’ll wipe them away
Let there be no place in my mind
anymore, for anything that doesn’t
magnify the light, no place
for excuses, for cause/effect fables,
for anything that’s unclean,
anything that’s not washed by the light.
Let all the contents here be blessed
so I can be a temple of the Most High.
©Wendy Mulhern
March 28, 2018
Beyond my words,
beyond the framings of my mind,
beyond the now silent
clamor of analysis,
crests the surge of being
I’m looking now
from inside the wave —
lifting, and feeling lifted,
rising and expanding outward,
taking in the welling up
of exaltation
This is something new,
this is something that always has been,
this is something that changes everything,
this is something that has never changed
How will I walk now
within my former world,
how will I not become
the power I have breathed?
©Wendy Mulhern
March 15, 2018
Here on the ground
the days are still painted
with enough grace
to fill any heart that’s present
We may not be flying
in the way we sense we someday will,
but we can feel high
in the confluence of skill and opportunity,
of character and connection,
of sun and scent and wind
and the myriad gifts of the hour.
©Wendy Mulhern
February 8, 2018
Ok, let me take a moment
to breathe deep, for I will need it
in this dive below the surface.
I will not bypass this opportunity,
I will look clearly
I’ll watch out for signs of shallowness,
of touching down to a false floor.
I won’t harbor fear
by pretending it’s not there
If I am truly fearless,
my movements and my voice
will be powerful —
they will stop things
in the tracks of mindless motion
They will demand
all things that pass by here
to take on the full light
of their own meaning.
They will not let go
until they are transformed.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 13, 2018
We get to the point
where pretending we have magic
does no good at all
And pretending we have power
and pretending that we’re unafraid
will fail us quickly
(Not to say we don’t have magic,
not to say we don’t have power,
not to say we have no basis
to be fearless)
Just to say pretending
has never been enough.
That’s why I’m not talking
right now.
©Wendy Mulhern
January 4, 2018
I stand
and let the sense of who I am
slide back behind me,
beyond time, beyond
the anchor of my story
It fills in
like a swath of sparkles
on windy water,
lights me from behind
and moves me
(like lifting up, expanding out)
making room for all of us,
making room for peace.
©Wendy Mulhern
December 22, 2017
No actually
I’d rather take the time
to be holy. This isn’t something
I do for myself. This is something
I allow, the way the land allows the sun
to warm it, the way the air allows the rain
to wash it clean
A long deep breath,
a pause to close my eyes
and let the fullness sink in.
Yes, this is what I’d rather do,
this is what I choose.
©Wendy Mulhern
December 18, 2017
And when I glimpse that I am
perfectly companioned,
perfectly mentored,
provided with my perfect place
When I glimpse the scope of being
that Spirit has ordained for me,
is it surprising
that I should look with puzzlement
on all these objects of the day,
that I should wonder
why their particulars
would even matter?
If I look through, though,
to what I really care about,
I see that each of these —
the objects of my daily life —
must be embraced within
the wondrous promises,
must be lit up, reclaimed, redeemed,
must stand as proof
of everything I’ve glimpsed is true.
©Wendy Mulhern
December 10, 2017