April is National Poetry Month, a practice begun in 1996. Poetry is certainly part of our spiritual path through prayer, chant and song. I use poetry in my practice as a therapist and spiritual director for a variety of reasons. Poetry has a way of slowing us down, using more of the left brain qualities, offering silences as much as words and inviting one into their own interiority and experience. Poems can act as doors or thresholds into this inner space. A poem will be offered here each week of April, inviting you to use poetry as a path to greater meaning and growth relating to self and spirit.
Today
-Mary OliverToday I’m flying low and I’m
not saying a word.
I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.The world goes on as it must,
the bees in the garden rumbling a little,
the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten.
And so forth.But I’m taking the day off.
Quiet as a feather.
I hardly move though really I’m traveling
a terrific distance.Stillness. One of the doors
into the temple