09/11/2024
🙏🌈 Mahalo John Roedel for this poem.. 🙏🌟
“don't let your
skin become
so thick that
nothing can
hurt you anymore
getting wounded
is part of the experience
the scars you
collect are all
part of your story
take off your armor
and give vulnerability
a chance to paint
your naked form
feel the sunlight
on your shoulders
let the wind move
through your hair
give your tears a
chance to be counted
allow us to be swept
up in your smile
~ you see, my love,
you weren't born
to be hidden behind
a towering wall
you were formed out
of an ancient whisper to
become a natural wonder
where we all visit to
listen to the songbirds
sing through the pines of
your evergreen beauty
you were given this skin
to be kissed softly
- don't let it grow scales
you were given your eyes
to reflect starlight
- don't close them to keep us from
seeing your soul
you were given your hands
to lace inside another hand
- don't keep them constantly
folded in your lap
my love,
I know this world
can be a sharpened spear
that will often pierce you
but
when given a choice
bleeding is always
better than apathy
someday when we
meet in the moving
cosmic river that exists
on the crawling fringe
of everything
let's take turns
washing each other's
scars while saying
the same prayer
over and over:
"I got this wound
for caring and I
got this one for
having an open heart
but that is the cost
that comes from being
a living work of sacred art."
~ John Roedel
(art by the amazing Siv Storøy)
