Here are some of my favourite poems by Gerry Hillier which I collected over the past 5 years after attending the annual yoga retreat in Australia. Enjoy. Gerry will be visiting Singapore in mid May, if you are keen to attend her workshops, check out www.theowlcompany.com.
“I AM AND THEN I AM SOME MORE”
I am
said the leaf
in stillness and then
I am some more, it cried
as the wind gathered it to play
I am
said the bird
perching on a branch and then
I am some more, it sang
As it took to flight across an ageless sky
I am
said the stream
as it rippled over stone and sand and then
I am some more, it laughed
As it spread into the swiftness of the river
I am
I whispered
From the stirrings of my soul and then
I am some more, sang my soul
as it felt the rising of God’s breath.
“THE SOUL’S LAMENT”
I have known the pain of silent torment
There have been times when I have been on my knees
pleading;
sometimes I long for a hand to hold my own;
to be raised up from my fear;
to become open to life’s rushing current.
Tell me I am known
Tell me I am understood
Tell me I am worthy
In conflict there is no resolution
I am torn – part of me bleed;
My joy becomes stagnant
– no longer breathing;
consumed by fear and ignorance
I am not meant to stand separated –
by denial and suspicion – by doubt;
until my innocent trust becomes the quiet weeping of isolation
I, like every child of life,
am meant to be held;
not by one –
not by some
but by all.
I am meant to be accepted –
Not by deeds or possessions –
Not by who or what I have become;
I am meant to be accepted
because I already belong –
to this earth –
to you –
to creation.
I am eternal light;
an echo of the great Spirit
and I am moving
on the breath of life
“IN MY HANDS”
In my hands
I hold the heart of the world;
its flesh;
the joy and sorrow of its turning
In my hands
I hold the mountains
the forests, the oceans;
the seething life that,
like my own,
asks to be held
In my hands
I hold the people, the nations;
I feel their breath
I know their aching
their laughter;
I know their longing
to be held
My hands around the earth;
it is time to heal –
myself, each other, the world
My hands around the earth;
it is time to heal the restless fear to stillness;
endless neglect to timeless love;
separation to unity
My hands around the earth
gently holding