empathy

so tender hearted, with mercy this moves
something un-started, how a heart sooths
intensity makes it, scary to boot
what it is yet, the heart can’t refute

frightening feelings, so intimidating
stirrings and reelings, plus all the waiting
underneath apprehension, what it’s made of
very best of intention, sharing this love

Saying yes...

"Saying yes to life creates space where every encounter is a gift."
~o'hOgain

to bless "findings"

the small things of life challenge;
a pen, a book, keys, a phone,
hiding during inattentive moments
demanding priority, making the small
important by degree of present need

May dependence on small things
never become an excuse to violate
relationships of the heart with angst,
insecurity, and rude hustle.

May the misplaced dislodge laughter,
discovering the unconscious way
life is lived, so carefree until loss
taps the shoulder to remind
internal humanity you've come home.

shared with an angel

personal passion shared with an angel
attempting awareness inflamed by sweet charms
moments freely given, release earnest feelings
the heart given freedom intermingles, disarms

personal passion speaks deep as emotion
sweeter the air with honeysuckle's perfume
talk late through the day, time shed as a jacket
unneeded for spring evening's friendship to bloom

laughter, fun, simplicity, honesty melded
the angel, Delila, gift from the gods
gracious the vision thankful kindred spirit
finding you here, goes against all odds

------------------------------------------
some have the gift to share a moment on forever - as I imagine many of my blog friends have this gift. I was pleasantly surprised to meet just such a spirited person recently. It was a great pleasure to make a new friend and the inspiration for this poem.

Love Letter No 44 - Mindless Love

Dear C,
I am exploding to talk to you, to hear your voice, to see your face. You've ravished my heart with time spent, kind words, shared emotions, meaningful touch. Breaking it down, "I am about to lose it." There is something desperate that I must unmask. There's no label for this, call it "mindless". Is that what happens when love takes you to the edge and drops you off? Choice is out of the loop, emotion is distant, intellect takes a backseat. Mindless love takes over; instinctive, passionate, reactive, responsive, urgent.

Run with me. With graceful freedom we'll move forward together, renewed oneness, restored mind and strength.

With deep and tender affection,
L
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Write a love letter and share it with someone special in your life.

Love Letters are a Thursday feature.

------

Artwork 'i-appropriated' from Cori.

follow the link on the picture to see more of Cori's creative work

or visit her web at "Sacred Artist "--------

to bless abandon

Past the overgrown garden, over the leaf strewn
ground beneath autumn ash and oak, beside
the dried muck that was once a swampy marsh,
the backside of the dump exults in forgetful
riches.

Whether the parachutist without a
ripcord, the noble chef with few
recipes and fewer ingredients, the storyteller
turned writer whose thesaurus
burned for kindling, abandon lingers;
full emotional release exercised in disregard.

Reluctant fallacy, ignored truth, abashment
masquerading unconcern, the totality of abandon
must be blessed, sheer expose' on "discontrol", yielded
forgetfulness, disappointment uncurtailed, throw
these and more in the melting pot.

Problems isolate; harried and nagged
fantasy of release take us into abandon. Part
courage, yet full of restless energy, ennui
inspired with a healthful supply of failure,
and sickening sweet success thrown in; emerging
abandon brings healing beyond personal
efforts of effectiveness, satisfaction, truth, law,
notion or fallacy.

Bless abandon! Call sin out, whisper divine mysticism,
clamor of human grappling. Ever close abandon,
bless the journey to the distant place
that is near at hand.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Photo 'i-appropriated' from Jack.
follow the link on the picture to see more Jack's great photography or visit her web at "Slightly off center"

Love Letter No 43 - Dance Love

Dear S,
You are flower fair. Freshness and freedom flow in your dance of life. Supple motion with unrestrained joy is a contact high from your heart to mine.

Honesty comes without pain, gentle thoughts designed to bare emotions. There is a gift there for just the two of us. Need I say as much? Looking into your eyes you've told me a secret, I will honor the gift and reply in kind.

We'll dance again and soon. Give me your hand and create the frame for the graceful journey to be shared by two. For none other ever danced away with my heart.

With deep and tender affection,

L
-----------------------

Write a love letter and share it with someone special in your life.

Love Letters are a Thursday feature.

:)

--------------

to bless the wishing well

Memory acts as guide to favored choices, a trip to the wishing well may "parent ideas, form dreams, initiate sacred desires, justify longings."

May the steps leading to the wish reflect the beauty of the fountainous well provided. May the path's generosity bring acceptance beyond self limiting thought patterns ingrained far too long in routine.

May a wish inspire your heart to hope beyond the mere possible. May you stride confidently before teachers of peace, tranquility, intimacy and harmony to offer your gift of coin, which will free every anxiety and all fears, as wishes take the rightful throne of your imagination.

May the bubbling gurgle of falling water reflect the well of your inner struggle that overflows, breaking the bonds of ego and intellectualism to fly into the twilight truth of childlike chimera.

May you hear the universe respond in affirmation to the gift you give from this time forward.

primal confirmation

Where I am standing far or near
and all that I can see from here,
snowy mountains, wooded vale,
flowing river grassy field.
Consider where I am in life,
heading toward or left behind,
what is it I am entering in,
what prevents me how to begin?

does something stop me, from rising above,
essential gift for gaining love,
on this frontier I've staked a claim,
giving all and risking name,
changes in the drum beats flow,
where to turn, which way to go,
crossing with passions fully engaged,
allows life experience to gain new stage

are life's emotions coming alive?
confusion, fear, hope, inner drive?
give self over to ritual dance,
dramatize the process, take no chance
realize change brings challenge for self,
illness, suffering or sudden wealth
old life then seems most far away,
what once was close the previous day

fate surely shapes our every cause,
strengthen or strip us, give us pause
a script so secret, self must discover,
intensity unlike no other,
for every life is a mystery,
unfolding unique destiny
that we live is affirmation,
we are touched by life's primal confirmation

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Photo 'i-appropriated' from Jack.
follow the link on the picture to see more Jack's great photography or visit her web at "Slightly off center"

you are, i am

reconsider, because you can,
change your mind, if i'm your man,
walk away, and drift afar,
free to fly, follow that star
a great free spirit will flap its wings
back and forth the door still swings
once walked out, walk back in
don't think too hard, begin again
love's forgiving, kind, with care
heart once touched, ready to share
reconsider, because you can,
you are woman, i am man
----------

See more of this artist at Aghassi

Love Letter No 42 - United Love

Dear S,
From the first moment we lit up united. Inside me, inside you, between the two, "a connect" happened. Our gaze, our talk, our thoughts, it was definitely a "there" moment. Life whispers in your ear, "now, step up, here you go." United was on our minds.

So the conversation continues, "this table shifts", "I'll hold my foot on it", "how did we get here", "arrivals happen when gracious hearts open freely", and on and on, and the time is gone. United was in our hearts.

A few minutes together, doing each day what is important, that makes union.
That makes unity. That makes us united.

Why am I the lucky one?

With deep and tender affection,

L

to bless "the meadow"

This post dedicated to Michael,
the last bit of green,
and his faithful companion,
mentioned on his recent post "here".

to bless "the meadow"
by o'hOgain

after the consultations and reviews, a "decision",
how clinical, and sterile the modern mind,
what is the value of a romp across
a snowy meadow, or the song of the cricket
in the early summer as growth thickens
from greening of spring rains.

people do need space, and yes, there
must be room to frolic and roam,
to smell the earth and creepy
crawlers of each season, places for
moving fallen limbs or turning over
rocks to see beneath.

may this place be blessed with
song of lark, hum of bee,
frog's evening melody, and room
for pups like me, who's joy
is bound up in
meadow's sacred
moments.

---------------------------

"Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, and come with me.

See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.

Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.

The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me."

Song of Solomon 2:10-13

-------------------

Photo i-appropriated from Jack at Slightly Off-Center by way of Flickr.

cure

"mysterious angelic transcendent
love is the cure for the anxiety
of the human condition"
~o'hOgain

------------------------------------------------

Photo i-appropriated from Jack at Slightly Off-Center by way of Flickr.

Love Letter No 41 - Furious Love

Dear J,
I am agitated deep within my soul. My usual
blustering just will not do. I remember the
many times you used your favorite word
for me, "boisterous", you would say
with a knowing smile. And I would laugh my
concentrated laugh as if your knowing made no
difference to either of us. Because for all of the
excess we shared, our love is exquisite, in
a masterful way. No other word can explain the divine
encounter of mind, body and soul that urges our union.

Extreme, wild, unrestrained, even vicious do not
approach the nature of who we are
together. I never knew the meaning of savage until
your kiss touched the depths of me. It was at once
tempestuous and terrible, intensified by the
joining of hands. Your touch, my touch, intense and
impetuous. Set this raging inferno flaming in my
heart.

A tornado on land or a tempest at sea, this,
my dear one is furious love. And I love you.

With deep and tender affection,

L
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Write a love letter and share it with someone special in your life.

Love Letters are a Thursday feature. So I doubled up this week :)

--------------

Love Letter No 40 - Lost Love

Dear N,
There are always options. The final option is to move forward once more. Yet, I sense love lost.

The other life, lived alongside the life we know, may go forward in love's name. However, this I experience here and now, lost love. The lightness, the breath of fresh air, the close your eyes surprise, the 'I'm yours', lost in the moment, lost in eternity, lost love.

Listen, hear that far away, the mournful wind moans, the sound of deep calling to deep. Even in this state is the more permanent connection, love lost. No one is the less, there is no "what could have been", when love is lost that is the true definition of nothing.

I love you.

With deep and tender affection,
L

------

Write a love letter and share it with someone special in your life.

Love Letters are a Thursday feature.

What if you had to tell that special one that this is it "love lost" - how would you manage?

----------------

to bless weakness

struggle may seem the opposite of strength,
yet even the strong may struggle,
thinking of ways to exceed requires
building on strengths more than
deficits,

pride may reveal difficulty
a place of weakness great,
for it is in the prideful moment that
boastfulness turns us upside down,

may weakness guide you to places of the heart,
places of new trust, new hope, new sources beyond
self and vanity,

may the least one that is near be met with the
abundance needed to raise them up and supply
their needs

may we see the reflection of our nature in those
who cannot 'do' for themselves when we give
ourselves for others.

may we love the unlovable for they are our
brother, sister, mother, and father too.

as the group sees the treatment of the weak,
may everyone rest in comfort that they too
shall be well received.

may weakness guide us with the tender care
of a loving parent to the sharing of inner gifts
of divine healing

may the prophets words ring true, strength made
perfect in weakness and the children's song become
the mantra of a generation, "I am weak but he is strong"

me and the rest of me

there is me, the me you see,
there is also 'the rest of me'

don't violate my driving space
lies told by leaders for my sake

attraction felt, I must suppress
anxiety of sudden singleness

no partner for life's intimacy
unchangeable wrongs that I see

inner child and forgiveness
intensity of love's aliveness

ambition to show greater grace

to reach for others losing the race

letting go when love had started
hidden tears for joys departed

happiness past explanation
gentle grace's ingratiation

this and more behind the scene
from the rest to me and all between
~(xox)~

paths

I want to walk the paths just for me
feel gently the breeze meant to blow
from the earliest day upon my cheek
feel the warmth of sun, meant to know

I want to lie down in grassy fields
among lush vegetation, smell earths smells
transitions begun from time still yields
instinctive memories as emotion swells

I want to swim the rivers and seas
or lakes with daring among the fish
wet skin all over, sure and at ease
be it hope, dream, blessing or wish

gentle gaze inward

"Casting a gentle gaze inward I perceive my deepest needs being touched mystically; once received any desire for other than this spiritual caress becomes inconceivable." ~ o'hOgain












--------------
Photo i-borrowed from Jack at Slightly off-center

faerie dance, sprite on tiptoes

oh the anxiety of the hopeful
singing a song for the wishes
of shooting stars - and dandelions
blown clean as awhistle or the
short piece of the chicken's
wishbone held onto, fast
food doesn't cut a chicken
that way - not the way you
cut to my quick, taking a lazy
look over at the green fallow
fields of fate or the baled and
ready for the barn hay of life
unlived as waiting turns into
a restless head on restless
pillow in a restless bed under
a thin quilt and nothing else
between the universe and
life but some sheetrock lumber
shingles, else the stars would peep
as the dreams cause a struggle,
arms grabbing sides of the bed and
pulling the body around to center
and position for the symphony
of daybreak that comes when
all the others are chased
away by the sun, no faerie
dance, no sprite on tiptoes
none left to charm the dew away
as it falls to mourn the passing
of the twilight and the
rising of the sun
oh the anxiety of the hopeful

Michael Buble sings How Sweet it Is

Goes with the theme of the day!

Love Letter No 39 - Sweet Love

Dear N,
Could it be sweet? Could any be
sweeter than I for you? Does the
bee know how to make honey?
Does sugar melt on the
tongue? Does sweetness flow
to your toes, then up the legs,
to the chest and arms, neck
and head before dropping back
to the tummy to settle wonderfully!

Sweet to hold hands, sweet walk
side by side, sweet to
gaze into each others eyes, sweet
to sit side by side. Sweet is
love's song that soars
through the air. Sweet to
be face to face intimately
embraced.

Sweet dreams dearest
and Thank You!

With deep and
tender affection,
L

------

Write a love letter and share it with someone special in your life.

Love Letters are a Thursday feature.

----------------

the wish's work

reflecting hope, plan or scheme
personal agenda, powerful dream

taking thought, clarify every intent
the wish's work, way to implement

longing to shower soul with affection
belonging discovered perfects direction

as water held by a dam has potential
gifts of the heart come like rain torrential

to bless work

what a dirty filthy four letter
word "work" has become. A synonym
for drudgery and oppression, work,
the watch word for despair,
anxiety and personal struggle.

Trepidation arises in the approach
to bless work. Yet, wisdom has
told us, "we can survive any
situation if the why is strong enough."
May your work reflect
the deepest why within you.

May the intuitive value of work
show itself, revitalizing effort.
May the provision work yields
be celebrated in essential ways.
May the togetherness of work
add relational blessing
to life's mundane tasks.

May the heart enlarge in the
embrace of worthy work,
an intrinsic daily activity.

May the negativity of work be
shed as dry skin of a reptile.
Giving way to new and supple
freshness of easy motion.
May work provide discovery
of initiative.

May work become a wellspring
of happiness. May work chosen
be loved by yourself and others.
And always, may you be blessed
with work that brings relaxation
and positive reflection into
a life that gives itself for
others.

Running a Race

I was in Nashville TN last Saturday -
and this was me'uns! :)
So this is where some of my energy has been going -
Thanks for all the shout outs on this my friends!

LarryG

Friends Award

Thank you Suz at Whispering Words! Your encouragement is deeply appreciated.

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

If you've won it already, please just accept this as a gift! Thanks to the following for blessing us with your openness in sharing your journey:

Cori at Sacred Artist
Meg at Floundering Writer Meg
Lori at Reflections and Ramblings of a Not So Super Woman
Noelle at A Portrait of a Human Heart
Tasha at Tasha's Take
Petra at PetraMichelle
Jack at Slightly Off Center
Wendy at Too Common of a Life
Shadow at 1 door away from heaven
Mike at The Continuing Adventures of a Jedi Master
Shiny Things at Fence Postings
Bad Mom at bad mom
Jessie at Softly Spoken
Suz at Whispering Words
Amber at Mommy Mania
Danielle at Don't Touch the Cactus
----------
That's over quota, yet all deserving - yes a couple of repeats, but they are all wonderful Friends!

Love Letter No 38 - Dew Love

Dear D,

The evening dew falls, we rejoice. The morning mist arrives, inspiration speaks. Warm and wet love to surround and comfort our hearts. As the bluebird sings till fiery sky of daybreak, so the night is filled with wave after ocean's roaring wave of mind, body and soul engaging the urgent tangle of mutual release.

Come to me once again. Yearn with me, urge me to new depths; share the giving circle that sets our hearts free.

With deep and tender affection,

L

------

Write a love letter and share it with someone special in your life.

Love Letters are a Thursday feature.

----------------

to bless "a secret"

the sweetest wine ferments
concealed in the cool depths
of the cellar, not in torture,
no, in confidence the fruit
within can share life
and health through the passage
of transforming time

may the product of your
imagination bubble slowly
without effort, leaving
a wonderful gift, ingestible and
sweetly satisfying, to the nose,
tongue, tummy and body...

may you be blessed with
secrets of insight that make
demands for good,
that give onus to be used
for enlightenment, reassuring

may wisdom cover your
secret until the shining moment of
revelatory surprise, when the amazed
response is inspired warmth
and joyful laughter

may any secret with potential to harm
become a harvest of peace to
benefit generations through
proclamation of how the giftedness
has been received and expressed

may every nurturing moment of
life speak the secret
joyful to your inner self,
one that sparkles with immensity,
creates divine curiosity,
beckons and remains as a
significantly tantalizing smile of
warmest satisfaction.

-----------------------------

Love Letter No 37 - Breve Love

Dear N,
I could enjoy a "cup of you"
It would go a long long way.
Love,
L

------

Write a love letter and share it with someone special in your life.

Write your own love letter, hand deliver it.

Love Letters are a Thursday feature.

----------------

PS: I will be out of pocket a couple of days, see y'all Monday Monday :)

Hill Born

Hill Born
by Henry Dalton
(from the book of the same title "Hill Born")
(Copyright 1954 THE KALEIDOGRAPH PRESS)


We are the hill born. Townfolks gawk
At us on Saturdays
And keep their distance. They smile at our talk
And look down on our country ways.

Our bodies are shaped by rocky slopes.
Our thoughts are bent to the plow.
And we are slow of speech. Our hopes
Are such as hills allow.

The taste of pine is in our wells,
Its biting green on our sky.
We are born to love hill tastes and smells.
Wild grape and crab apple are wry.

The summerness of plowing gives way
To far autumn horns of the hunter.
Sharp axes on oak and hickory
Ring out like bells all winter.

When joy is a flower or grief's a nettle
Our words pull up to a halt.
Don't smile, townfolks. If we talk too little
It's not our fault:

For hills are possessive, hills are bitter;
Hills are jealous of their young.
Folks blame it on the cat -- but I know better.
The hills got our tongue.

-----------------------
A good friend of mine trades in antiques along with a few "odds and ends". He said someone offered him a box of junk, which he claimed this book of poems by Henry Dalton out of that box. Great save for James. Thanks brother!


The poems have a sort of Gaelic connection to the land and nature. The collection has deep resonance with rural south of the mid 20th century.

Charmed Dwelling

charmed dwelling inspiring - filled, brightly magical

living on love - not too much to tackle

every good thing - part of provisions

basics of life - plan for daily intentions

pulling together - two kids, one wagon

sometimes collective - haul one another when dragging

grace and peace sewn - a patch quilt of sharing

shelter and warmth - hints exciting and daring

moreover essentials encompassed surpassed

love's passion charmed - life fully possessed

------------------------

Response poem

see Enchanted Cottage over at

Portrait of a Human Heart

Photo from Jack's Flickr -

Go there from Jack's blog

Slightly Off Center

to bless the morning

As day closes may the grip
of loose ends relax, may your heart
find release, may loosening bring
simplicity, dawn bringing stirrings,
refreshing new pledge

may spirit, body, soul
be replenished, may each day's
gift become your joy, be it
butterfly, rainbow, blossom,
or bright skyflung dawn

Express the heart's longing cry!

morningtide come! sunrise phenomenal!

Should yesterday's plan become
fodder for today's fire, may this
too inspire beginning, invigorated
with wish, blessing, dream,
for thought, word and deed.

stagger

i stammer i stutter
i stagger around
don't know what i utter
can't make a sound

you shake me you flush me
you bring out my best
just trying sweet lady
to get at the rest

Love Letter No 36 - Soft Love

Dear N,
Softness soundlessly sweeps through
surrounds and sates.

There is the softness of touch, so tender,
lips along the neck, only a breath apart.
Softness of hands that touch tenderly with desire.
When lips touch they are pliable
to form to each other in soft caress.

Softness dwells where beauty resides.
Beauty in the eye of this beholder rests on softness,
includes grace and mercy.
To behold this, great beauty must first
be in the heart of the viewer, then recognition
identifies marvelous appearance.
Softness is in the gaze
and the gazed upon.

Every exchange prepares the way
with its own empathetic light touch.
Gratitude enables the encounter to be fulfilled.
Honest in heart and tender in emotion
the approach blesses the encounter
with homespun receiving.

Softly receive this love.

With warm and tender affection,
L
------

Write a love letter and share it with someone special in your life.

Write your own love letter, hand deliver it.

Love Letters are a Thursday feature.

----------------

to bless the restless one within you

Contained by the soul lurks inner wisdom hungering for liberation, inspiration desperate for exposure, biographical impulse yearning to deliver into the light of creation delicate invention of imagination.

May your restless urges be invitations to dwell in the largesse of your soul. May you grasp interaction in the physical, and know the limits placed on the munificence of the soul's manifestation.

Within personal creativity is the restless fire, may you find the fuel to burn brightly.

May tireless longings yield new space for the expression of your soul's deepest belongings,
May your restlessness be blessed .

~o'hOgain

leaving

It's gonna hurt a lot
I'll have trouble sleeping at night
I gotta whole lot of tears to cry
The strain is chopping years off my life.
What will it take for me to let it go,
Separate the heart from what i know,
When loving memories is all I've got.
You know it's gonna hurt a lot.

Love Letter No 35 - Just Love

Dearest B,

The songwriter said "It's only love, and that is all! Why should I feel the way I do?!" My brother's words speak my heart today; it's "just love."
The surge of emotion within rises to a cacophony of fresh feelings; it's "just love."
The moonlight dancing with the ocean waves; it's "just love."
The bluebird sings, the crow caws, the cardinal cha-rees and the mockingbird trills; it's "just love."

You have become the apple of my eye. Arms encircle one another, a new dance begins, we move together within and surrounded. One heart beats, created through selfless generosity; it's "just love."

And if we struggle now and then, or even fight, our hearts are never far apart; it's "just love."

With deep and tender affection,

L

--------------------------------------------


Photo "i-appropriated" from Jack's flickr
see Jack's blog at Slightly Off Center

Hear the Beatles "It's Only Love" over at youtube.