Mere Lullabies and Words

(Photos by Karen Crisp ~ Angel Fire, NM)

The birds sing me sweet celestial songs ~

The sun pours out its fiery love against my skin ~

Cool breezes nuzzle me

With gentle caresses.

Trees sway back and forth

A slow lover’s dance …

Beckoning me

To link my arms with theirs.

Raven, red-winged blackbirds, woodpeckers, grey dove

Join mountain chickadees, grey squirrels, curious chipmunks …

Allowing me to share

Their sacred spaces …

All I do is sing them lullabies

And offer up pitiful, puny, quiet words

Of gratitude, and love.

Take my mere lullabies and words,

Oh, Holy One!

Swallow them whole!

Work Your miracles of transformation and grace!

Spit them back out

As brilliant rainbows …

As sonnets to fill the ethers …

As shining stars yet unknown …

As Pure Light where there once was utter darkness …

As deep, mysterious, beautiful darkness

To showcase places where inner Lights burn bright!

Use my shameful, beggar’s offering!

Oh, Creator of the Universe!

Co-create with me

Some Grand New Thing

Out of these insignificant, little,

Mere lullabies and words.

~ By Karen Crisp

Your Presence

Photo by Karen Crisp

(Cross above adobe archway at San Francisco de Asis Church, Ranchos de Taos, NM)

Your Presence envelops me ~

Wrapping me in Holy Mystery,

Caressing me with calming Peace.

I sit in Your Presence

And wish never to get up.

I breathe in Your Presence,

And wish never to exhale.

I taste Your Presence,

And wonder how I can ever eat again.

I feel Your Presence,

And want nothing else ...

And All of You.

~ By Karen Crisp

I AM Here ...

Photo by Karen Crisp

("All-Seeing Eye" from plaque on grounds of Beverly Hall, Quakertown, PA

www.soul.org)

I AM here ...

In the Silent spaces ~

In between the notes ...

I AM here ...

Riding every inhale and exhale ~

Wending My way through every cell ...

I AM here ...

Watching every thought ~

Noticing which ones you cherish or dismiss ...

I AM here ...

Feeling every agony, every pain, every despair ~

Rejoicing in each celebration, each awakening ...

I AM here ...

Hidden underneath your doubts and disbelief ~

Waiting for you to seek ~ and to find ~ Me ...

I AM here ...

Wanting to be discovered ~

Desirous only of your Love ...

I AM here ...

Patient as you strive to love yourself ~

Compassionate as you come to know yourself ...

I AM here ...

Loving you tenderly ~

Lighting your Divine Spark within ...

I AM here ...

I AM closer to you

Than you are to yourself ...

I AM here ...

You will find me

When you fall into My Light and My Love.

~ By Karen Crisp

Preparing an Undefiled Bed

Photo by Karen Crisp

(Stained glass window at the Lama Foundation near Taos, NM)

The Sacred Christos and the Blessed Sophia

Present Themselves ~

Twin Flames and Holy Lovers,

Before the altar of my Soul

Desirous of a proper dwelling place

For Their sacred union:

An undefiled bed

Upon which to lay Their Holy Heads.

Mine is not fit

Until I die within ...

Joining the acorn

And the grain of wheat ...

Absorbed into the Nothingness

From whence I came

To re-emerge as Pure Essence,

Adorned, like the oak,

With a new name

And a new sacred task:

To serve and proclaim

Such Exalted Royalty.

The holy task cannot be done

With words.

I must so prepare

Their holy bed

That They can birth within me

A silent Flaming Fire Light

That alone can speak

Their Celestial language

Of pure Divine Love.

~ By Karen Crisp

Prayer to The Fire Within

Photo by Karen Crisp

(Crystal angel in private collection of Barney & Lisa Fadal, Seguin, TX)

Oh, my Master and my King!

Before my very eyes

You turned my heart into stone! ...

A brilliant, sparkling crystal cluster,

Each point aflame with the

Searing Fire of Your Love.

Angelic Beings took my ears,

Implanting melodies from celestial realms

Deep within my Being.

My Soul leapt into the River of Fire

Dancing across the flaming points,

Utterly consumed yet not burned

By Your Great Love.

Oh, Sweet Majesty!

To know such ecstasy and sublime bliss!

You are to be praised and adored forever!

Consume me until there is nothing left

But the melody.

Sing in me and through me.

When You sing me,

Let the world see only Your Flame!

~ By Karen Crisp

Open My Eyes ...

Foot path in Cameron Park ~ Waco, TX

(Photo by Karen Wood)

Lift the veil from my eyes, Oh Lord!

Let me peek out from behind the curtain

That shrouds my vision,

Keeping me from seeing You ~

My Beloved, my Teacher, my Guide!

Unmask me!

Remove the shades from my eyes!

Let me open wide to Your Beauty,

Your Wisdom, Your Eternal Truth!

Let me see as I have never seen before

Your abundant Grace ~

The feast You have prepared for me

And the foot path You have

Marked for my Way.

Open my eyes, Oh Holy One!

Open my eyes so that I may see You!

Blind me with Your Holy Presence

So that I have no need to ever see again,

Except by Your guiding, ineffable Fiery Light

Within.

~ By Karen Wood

The Wisdom Teacher

(Photo by Karen Wood)

To see the mark of wisdom

In a stately tree ~

One must cut it open.

Its rings bespeak

The years ~ or eons ~

It has watched and waited ...

It has weathered

Seasons and storms,

Diseases and dangers ...

It has nurtured within its leafy arms

Birds of song

And birds of prey ...

It has withstood mighty winds ~ icy assaults ...

And wept inner tears to sustain itself

During unrelenting droughts ...

It has shaded playgrounds

And watched lovers

Stealing kisses ...

It has borne silent witness to unspeakable horrors

Committed beneath its branches

Under the cover of darkness ...

Through the ages, it has suffered neglect ...

Lack of appreciation ...

Isolation ...

As time unfolds, it has enjoyed occasional acknowledgement ...

Sometimes respect ...

Rare devotion.

Yet it always reaches out its arms,

Open and wide ~

And up ~ ever up ...

As it sends its roots deep into The Source

That birthed it ~

And will one day reclaim it as Its Own.

Yes ~ to see the mark of wisdom

In a stately tree ~

One must cut it open.

Only when one can gaze inside ~

At its innermost core,

Can one see the ageless wisdom it held within ...

It must die first ~

Before one discovers how truly wise was

That Wisdom Teacher.

~ By Karen Wood

Blinded by Your Love

(Photo by Karen Wood)

Eternal One ~

I bow before You

And disappear into Your Great Love.

You have swallowed me whole

Into Your Flaming Light.

I am blinded by Your Love,

But I have no need to see,

For You have given me

Wings to find my Way.

We soar the unfathomable spaces

And Breathe as One

The Breath of Life

That sings the song of dawn

And whispers the hush of dusk.

It shouts the coming of the Kingdom

And the arrival of The Holy One.

Universes awaken with anticipation

And quiver with glee!

The moment is Now.

The arrival is assured.

My heart is Your Throne.

Oh, My Love!

Come Now!

~ By Karen Wood

"Master Physician" Prayer ...

(Photo by Karen Wood)



Master Physician ~

We come before You in our brokenness,

Offering pieces of ourselves

At the altar of Your Holy Feet.

Heal us, Oh Holy One!

Put us back together

As You would fix a broken doll

For a crying child.

Patch us with Your Divine Love

And smooth Your Celestial Salve

Over the deep woundedness

Of our most hurting humanity.

Sweetly dab dry our tears of pain ...

Sing songs of Hope and Joy

To pull us from the depths

Of our illusive ills.

Shine Your eternal Light

On the Perfection within us.

Destroy all the dark places,

Until all that remains to be seen

When we look in the mirror

Is Your Light

Staring back at us.

Oh, Master Physician!

Heal us with your Divine Touch!

Cleanse every spot;

Banish every blight;

Wipe away every ill ...

Heal everything within

That is not All Good ~

Heal until there is nothing left to heal ~

Until All that is left

Is You.

Only You.

~ By Karen Wood

Long Enough ...

(Photo by Karen Wood)

I ache for you ~

Longing for you to STOP

Long enough ...

To see Me.

I AM pained

By your distractions

And disbelief.

I groan in agony ~

Wondering if you

Will ever still your heart

Long enough ...

To hear My pleas.

I yearn to Feed you ~

But you won't STOP

Your eating and drinking

Long enough ...

To be Eternally Nourished.

I ache for you ~

For whenever you STOP

Long enough ...

I AM there

Closer than your breath

With the Breath of Life

To take away

Your pain,

Your agony,

Your suffering,

Your hunger,

Your lack.

You need only

STOP

Long enough ...

~ By Karen Wood

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

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

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

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



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