BLESSED

I am blessed beyond measure in many regards. One of those blessings is my association with a number of organizations that allows me to take time away from my day-to-day life and go "on retreat." This past weekend, I attended a retreat whose theme was "Aspects of Love." I was asked by the organizers to compose a poem that I would read at the conclusion of the retreat. With acknowledgment to William Butler Yeats for inspiration, I present that poem now:

RETREAT

I went out to the woods
because their was a fire
in my heart that needed tending.

I know that words alone
cannot contain or change
the shape of this sacred flame.

And so I give myself the gift
of time to listen to the sound
of my heartbeat.

On holy land I cast off false illusions
and shed plates of armor
revealing a tender place
where love and I can live
and grow and thrive and welcome
each other home.