May 18, 2015

The Breathings of My Heart through Poetry - by Gloria Guest

For me, writing the ‘breathings of my heart’ as encouraged by William Wordsworth has often been a tentative sharing around the edges of my life; sometimes in one of the life lesson columns I used to write for the newspapers or perhaps in one of my blogs. Or maybe at a writers workshop or two where I opened up a part of myself I never had before.
My writing journey has been a long process of learning to trust God, myself and others and many days I still feel as if I am only on the beginning steps. Although I can write vulnerably and have, I am still hesitant to share it in a published format.  I often wish to be further up the ‘published’ staircase than I am, but it can all seem so daunting.  And so, a vital part of my journey has been learning about the gift of hope. 
It was Alexander Pope who penned the words, “Hope springs eternal,” in his 1733 Epistle, An Essay on Man. His words still ring true today.
In fact, Pope’s words remind me of a day a number of years back, when it felt like hope literally did spring right out of the desolate prairie, just for me.
I can still see myself sitting on that solitary hill on a cold spring day, ruminating over too many hopeless situations that were going on in my life.
And then I saw it; one simple little sign of life.
The following is a poem I wrote that came from the ‘breathings of my heart,’ that day on the hillside. In fact William Wordsworth himself  shared his own heart with us through his incredible gift of romantic English poetry. I find poetry to be a genre that winds more gently around those vulnerable places in my heart, wooing me to write and even share the 'breathings of my heart'  with others.

Hope

Signs of Life
Purple stems protruding from prairie earth
With snow still visible on the ground
A day when my heart seeks shelter and solace
How brave and fierce the Crocus is!
Not grown in potting shed or tended in gardeners plot
It’s undaunted courage inspires me and woos me
I cup them to my face
And inhale their fragrance of hope
While Creators breath midst prairie breeze
Surrounds my searching soul
During trying circumstance

                                                        Gloria Lynn Guest 

14 comments:

  1. "I often wish to be further up the "published" staircase than I am." I love the visual. I can see the staircase. So many steps to climb and yes so daunting a task. The thought of publishing for me seems to be an emotional struggle of "Do I or Don't I." The hesitation of putting ourselves out there. A beautiful poem! Keep on writing, Gloria.

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  2. I found myself nodding to your words and thinking 'me too!'.

    LOVE this poem.

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  3. I agree with the strength demonstrated by the crocus's ability to push through the dead grasses of the winter, come up in snow and to bring Hope in hard places. Thank you for your words.

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  4. Thank you for all the encouraging comments.

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  5. Hi Gloria, this is so precious. Thank you for sharing your hope - I need to hear this!
    Pam

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  6. Beautiful Gloria. Thanks for being courageous and sharing your heart with us. And it is beautiful the way God uses His creation to turn our eyes to Him.

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  7. Once again God has encouraged someone in exactly the way they needed encouragement, without fanfare and hoopla, just a small purple flower. Thanks, Gloria, for sharing this. It touched my heart. Have a wondrous day

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  9. Your post, particularly your poem and how it came to you, moved and encouraged me. Thanks for sharing this.

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  11. I meant to say, ". . . your poem and how it came to you. . ."

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  12. I enjoyed your post, Gloria, especially your poem!

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