Inner Work Comments With Poem & Haiku

I have occasionally been asked what value I find in not only going through intense inner exploration, but in then also writing about it. The full answer is still unfolding with my life but contains the phrase "....because I must." The poem below also contains a partial answer:

ON GETTING THE BENDS

Sunk again with no warning
in the oppressive depths.
Impelled along the bottom mire
by her heart’s faint pulse.

Once more stumbling
over lost and discarded
fragments of her life:
lumps of lava, skeletons,
tin cans, mother boards.

Struck by the diffused light
playing with their secrets.
Where are they going?
How do they fit?
Surprised and buoyed each time
by a surfeit of answers.

Rapidly surfacing time and again
bearing old mysteries and new gems
that will whisper their stories
through her pen.

Welcoming the bubbling of joy
in her blood,
and, oh, the fresh air
filling her lungs.

(written January 2006)

Or, in a similar vein but more concisely put in a haiku:

frigid rain ends
sudden sunlight crosses
the empty page

(written January 2006)

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In writing the above haiku I did not have a pre-conceived idea or image. I just attempted to record a moment that struck me. This is not to say there may not have been an unconscious preconception urging the writing. But this is the beauty of haiku writing (when it happens this way for me, which is not common): any deeper implications or implied connections and images only become apparent after the moment is on the page. This makes for a simplicity in the writing process. I hasten to stress again that I do not often achieve this simplicity, tending as I to do tweak at and over-stuff my haiku. But when it does happen, it’s a lovely experience and probably largely why I keep returning to the form. This is said in comparison to writing free verse, during which I can get bogged down in preconceptions, images, thoughts, feelings, associations, etc., etc.

Each form offers a freedom of its own, in my experience. Haiku: the freedom that comes from not challenging limits, from accepting what is. Free verse: the freedom to explore, to shape and mold, to question, to pick and choose from many different moments and places, all within larger, less limiting boundaries. However, both require that we be focused and present with all our senses.

All that said, may we listen for the questions and sense the answers our spirits urge upon us.

Resource: DayPoems. A different author's work is posted each day and there is a forum for sharing your work, plus some interesting links to other poetry and art sites.

‘til next time, keep dreaming,

Roswila
* * * *If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me – it’s under "View my complete profile" – for permission.
FUTURE POST(S): Using Tarot Cards to Explore Your Dreams
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