Saturday, September 22, 2012

Sweet, Divine Mystery!

(Photo by Karen Wood)
Angel Fire, N.M.
Sweet, Divine Mystery!
You are so close ...
Yet ever elusive!

I reach out to touch You ~
You are nowhere to be found ...
Until I draw my next Breath.

I crave Your Presence ~
I feel so abandoned ...
Until I see the grey-white dove perched mere feet
From the hovering, hunched black raven.

I yearn for Your Voice ~
I hear only SILENCE ...
Followed by sweet bird songs, wind whispers,
And majestic thunder claps.

I long for Deep Peace ~
Cruelties, injustices, deep woundedness engulf me ...
Until I submerge into the Depths of Stillness
Where I find Perfect Rest.

I chase certitude ~
I capture only more questions, more doubts
Until it dawns, slowly ...

The Divine Mystery Is
The only Certainty.

It is not knowable.
It can only be Loved.

~ By Karen Wood

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The First Song, Continued ...

~ Stellar Blue Jay ~
(All photos by Karen Wood:
Angel Fire, New Mexico)

We sang love songs to each other,
The birds and I ...

Mine was a lullaby, sweet and low ~
Sung barely above a whisper ...
Perhaps thankful no one heard me,
For what would "they" think ...
This one who sings lullabies aloud
To wild birds?

Moments later ~ or was it hours? ...
From deep within the depths
Of meditation and prayer,
As I poured out heart cries
Unto The Holy One ...

Their reply rode on the wind ~
Straight into my heart.

It was a bird-song anthem
Resounding throughout the forest,
Echoing and reverberating
Into my Soul.

~ Pine Siskin & Nuthatch ~

I had whispered to them a lullaby.
They shouted back to me an anthem!

One after another dropped by on my lap,
As I sat meditatively motionless 'neath a warm woolen blanket,
Holding a stone picked up from the road
In one hand ~
A devotional angel made from stones
In the other.

The birds shouted their Praise Anthem
In coordinated bird songs ~
Blackbirds, mountain chickadees, pine siskins, crows,
Stellar blue jays, hummingbirds, juncos, nuthatches ...


~ Red Winged Blackbird ~

Singing a mighty chorus
That drowned out everything except their
Song of Glory!

My heart leapt with Joy! ~
Utter Joy! at the recognition ...

That we are all held
In the same Lap of The Holy One ~

And all spring from the same Majestic Source
Who Sang the First Song!

~ Dove ~

My song was a soft lullaby ...
Their bird song was a resounding Praise Anthem ...

~ Hummingbird perched in tree ~
They were both
Love Songs ...
A continuation of that
First Song ...


~
~ Hairy Woodpecker ~
Sung to each other ...
And to The Holy One.

~ By Karen Wood

Friday, September 14, 2012

The Permeating Presence

Photo by Karen Wood
(St. Bridgit's Garden reflection pool, Ireland)

I close my eyes
And sink deep
Into a calm pool
Of gratitude and devotion ...

I am immersed
In quietude ~
Permeated by a
Loving, Holy Presence.

There are no words,
For they are unnecessary.

The Silence holds
Everything
In Its No-thing-ness.

I am nourished,
Uplifted,
Held,
Soothed,
Caressed,
Comforted,
Affirmed,
Purified,
Wholly Loved ~
By the permeating Presence.

Myriad thoughts float above
Along the surface
Of this deep, calm pool
Of gratitude and devotion.

I barely notice them ~
For the permeating Presence
Draws me deeper and deeper
Into Its Loving Silence.

There are no words ~
For they are unnecessary.

The Silence holds
Everything
In Its No-thing-ness.

~ By Karen Wood

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Space Within

Photo by Karen Wood
(Labyrinth in Crestone, CO)

The space within cannot contain
All the Love You hold out for me,
Sweet Lord and Lover of my Soul!

I expand until ready to burst,
Hoping to somehow fill myself
With Your great Love.

Yet there is ever more.

I draw in Love.
I exhale Love.
I eat and drink Love.

I imagine Love in the most fanciful places ...
I sometimes think I see Love
Even in the darkness.

Even when I sleep,
I find myself
Sometimes dreaming Love.

Oh, Sweet, Mysterious Love!
Love me until I cannot draw in another moment ~
Or exhale another piece of You!

Love me until I can no longer imagine You ~
Or see You in the darkness!

Love me until I no longer can eat or drink You
When I feast or fast!

Love me until there is nothing left to Love
But You and You Alone!

Love me until I have learned
That the Space Within
Is All there is ...
And it is Only Love.

~ By Karen Wood


Saturday, September 8, 2012

In The Depths of My Being

(Photo by Karen Wood)

In the depths of my Being
I burn with Love ...

The hot, Divine Flame
Consumes all
That is not holy.

The Flame licks its lips ~
Devouring anger,
Regret,
Impure thoughts,
Judgment,
Ill will,
Inaction,
Fear,
Carelessness,
Envy,
Impatience,
Excesses,
Jealousy,
Doubts,
Discontent,
Arrogance,
Covetousness ...

I feed the Flame well ~
Continually tossing more and more
Unholy passions
Into its ravenous mouth.

I draw Life and Joy
From the flaming Sacred Fire within ...

And burn with Divine Love ~
In the depths of my Being.

~ By Karen Wood