It’s been a while since I’ve posted here! But I’m currently writing a post once a week over on my Substack, https://saltwatersoulcornwall.substack.com/. See you there!
Is This Hope?
It smells like spring,
despite the morning frost
heavy on the ground,
the air has shifted
and rich golden daffodils
burst open from the ground
their heads nodding towards
the sun, which is warm on my skin.
I pause a moment to enjoy
the feeling, the blue skies
wrapping around me, and I wonder,
is this hope, at last?
The Seasons
Winter’s cloak is thick and heavy, lined
with fur and folds like a duvet.
Winter is an old man, bent
in two, an aching back and creaking knees,
a white beard laced with ice
skin that wrinkles around his eyes.
Spring’s cloak is lighter, the material
skipping and flowing it drips over the ground
like a gentle stream, she slips
and jumps, light on the ground, fingers
soft and delicate. Her hair is silver
and her laugh gentle and kind.
Summer is a slippery being, her cloak
nearly invisible as she slips
it on, it reflects the light
shimmering as it glides over the ground.
She is hard to catch and impossible
to see, she does not hang around long,
and so autumn is glad to pull his cloak
back on and walk out into the world
a smile on his face. His cloak
is not heavy but it is warm,
and secure on his shoulders
as he strides out into the world.
Solstice
The days are getting longer. The days shorten. I wake early to see the dawn of the longest day.
But from here the days shorten, second by second. I watch the day break. It is dark and cold,
but the days are getting longer, second by second. We’ve reached the tipping point, a moment
of light in the darkness. The fire crackles against the warm night. The sun stills and turns,
the start of summer. The fire burns bright, a beacon in the darkness. We wear garlands, herbs
and flowers, embrace the beginning of days to come, cast out evil spirits that wait in the dark.
We wait for the coming of longer days, of new life bursting into being. We see the dawn and know
that they are coming, the darkness is behind us. The light lingers. We hold onto it, clasping
at the light, afraid that it will disappear, sit out by the dying fire a little longer, watch
the embers of the fire extinguish, and hold onto the knowledge that there’s better things to come.
I go [meditations #11]
I go to the mountains
to rivers and the sea
to the lonely moors
and the marshes
I go to the hills
to be alone
to find something
although I don’t know
what I’m looking for
I go to the water
to see myself
a reflection
looking back
to tell myself
that I am free
and that the world
is vaster than I
will ever know
and I feel alive
dwarfed by the light
of the land
I go to find.
we fly [meditations #10]
We long to be free, to be the masters
of our doing, to beat our own wings
against the blue skies
and the stormy ones too.
Trapped, imprisoned by these four
walls, we rage and wait, wait
although we don’t know what for
And when it’s granted we hesitate
wings outstretched against the sun
reluctant to claim something
longed for and dreamed of.
But we will fly again
we will soar against the blue
skies and fall too, as if
our wings never stopped moving
And our feet never touched the ground.
anxiety [meditations #9]
the fear sits
in the back
of my throat
lingering
holding on
to remind
me that
it moves
to the pit
of my stomach
sits tight
and unbidden
coiled
waiting
to spring
the places we go [meditations #8]
There are places that I visit
in my mind, places that aren’t
even there anymore, but still I
go there, when I can.
In the memories, I am a child
again, running through the grass
my feet bare, my hair a tangled
mess and the sun warm on my face.
It is a carefree place to be,
and if I could turn and walk
back there now, perhaps I would
so that I could put the world
on pause for a little longer
and tread where the grass
never goes brown, where cross
words are never spoken,
and where I can savour
the freedom of a child
with nowhere to go,
free from worries and fears.
while we’ve been gone [meditations #7]
The sight of the silage bales
makes me stop in my tracks.
I’m startled to see them,
and unbidden, my eyes well.
Time marches on, nature
continues to walk it’s well
trodden course even if we are
forced to stand still for
a little while, something
that we’re not used to doing.
The seasons have changed
while we’ve been stood still,
waiting for something to pass
that we can’t understand
or control, like we can’t control
the rise and fall of the ocean
or the cooling and warming
of the days, which have grown
longer, the sun setting later,
while we’ve been gone.
While we’ve been away, something
continues regardless of how
we feel, a reminder that we are
only passing through this place a while.
fantasy meal [meditations #6]
For starters, we’ll have freshly
sliced tomatoes, picked straight
from the vines in the greenhouse,
that homegrown smell lingering on
their skin. We’ll mix them with
basil and oil, a hint of garlic
on lightly toasted bread.
For mains, we’ll have it outside,
under the parasol, a warm summer,
our feet bare, towels wrapped around
our shoulders, as we eat piping hot
lasagne, garlic butter dripping down
our fingers and the adults talking.
Pudding will be bowls of the freshest
strawberries, laced with sugar,
dolloped with cream, which we’ll inhale
as if it’s barely there. Then we’ll disperse
from the table, our bellies full, our hunger
satisfied, longing to get on and play.
Later, perhaps, in years to come,
we’ll wish that we lingered a little longer.
But then, perhaps, the best memories
are the ones that it’s hard to see.
Sea, Earth, Sky 