Datura Unopened, Copyright 2008 by MD Mikus,
From “Melting,” from my book, Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing.
“…This puddle of you,
this chrysalis,
this butterfly in the making,
in transition,
that familiar rough patch
neither here nor there….”
Although I wrote this poem in 2009, under quite different circumstances, I am again in that place right now. You?
Listen here to poem 24: https://youtu.be/ahlWyKgPyi4
This poem seems written for these times.
We are in the throes of transformation. What we make of it, in co-creation, has yet to come. As Clarissa Pinkola Estes recently wrote: “We Were Made for These Times.” It is clear we must awaken and be alert, acting from our highest intention. Do not lose hope, transitions are always messy and chaotic. Hang in there and take good care. You are not alone.
“…if everything stayed perfectly fine,
would I still pay attention?”
Poem 23, “Not Easy,” from “Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing.” Listen here: https://youtu.be/X9-uCvpLB38
For more poem videos from “Frazzle”
Listen to this hopeful poem (#22) “From Mary Jane D. and Stephenie Meyer,” from my book, Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing: https://youtu.be/STLSztazYAs
I never know where inspiration will come from, and how different threads will weave together. In the title to this poem, Mary Jane refers to a woman I met through remodeling our home and Stephenie Meyer is the author of the very popular, Twilight book series. She also did a series of interviews about her writing process that were very helpful to me. The guys mentioned in the subtitle were in a social-spiritual group I belonged to and were the direct inspiration for this topic: change that seems catastrophic, shaking the foundations of the life you had built up to that time.
“…the details
don’t matter:
a choice point where
all is divided into
before…and after…”
In my healing work I had been repeatedly shaken up by new diagnoses or other dark circumstances so that I could not go back to my old life, I could only try to move forward into the unknown. I had to become better skilled at and trusting of change. In most or all cases, after time passed I could see how what had looked devastating ultimately had directed me to a better and more satisfying life path.
Has this ever happened to you or someone you know?
Listen to more poems from “Frazzle”
This poem feels especially appropriate for today, when there seem to be huge mountains challenging us to climb. To take the first step, to trust and join with the rest, and just do it.
“…From fearful to sure,
or sure enough
to take one step…
then another, not necessarily big leap.
Not to erase the past,
but creating the future, your future…”
Poem 19, “This Big Thing,” from Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing. Listen here: https://youtu.be/rR_SAhCofhs
Although one original inspiration for this poem was our extensive home remodeling, it also applied to the ongoing healing process for me. What might “this big thing” refer to in your own life?
For more video poems from Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine
Any chronic problem—whether of the body, mind, emotions or spirit, whether an individual, a family, or the community—sometimes it takes over your life and sometimes it just pops up like an inflated balloon held under water that surfaces now and then, asking for attention.
In this poem, for me, it was a recurring abdominal hernia, but for you it’s probably something very different. There’s a lot of mystery to healing.
“…What once was built, can be re-built
that is not the question.
The answer of course
is yes.
Clearly changes are called for.”
Here is Poem 18, “The Answer,” from “Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine: Poems of Grace, Hope, and Healing.” Listen here: https://youtu.be/uFd1_5cJE7Y
What changes are you ready (or almost ready) to make in the name of healing…not just for you, but to radiate all around you?